Interior Design Students Present at Portfolio Event

Clover Park Technical College Interior Design students showcased their creativity at the program’s annual student portfolio event March 18 in the McGavick Conference Center.

Kareen Grothuesmann had the unique opportunity to turn a life event into her final presentation, using a house flip as her project.

“When we did the flip I didn’t know I was going to use it as my presentation, but it was the one project I knew like the back of my hand,” Grothuesmann said. “It was a good one to choose because I could answer any questions.”

Grothuesmann used her 15-minute presentation to share about the Tudor-style home in downtown Tacoma that she and her husband spent three months renovating.

Each student presented to a panel of interior design professionals and program alumni. Industry partners and the campus community were invited to the event to see the creative talents of this year’s graduating class.

“The event gives them a chance to show what they’ve done and to have an ending to the program, instead of just walking out the door,” Interior Design Instructor Michael Bowman said. “It also exposes them to industry partners.”

Katie Terrill studied set design at an art institute on the East Coast before she realized she enjoyed working on a more intimate scale with people. After a visit to CPTC, where she fell in love with the instructors and program, Terrill enrolled.

Terrill took the Green Design course her second quarter, which led to a desire for a career in sustainable commercial design.

“I really want to work on huge collaborative projects and be a part of something that comes to fruition,” she said.

The work of the students spanned all areas of the interior design field. Alyssa Johnson prefers the architectural side and provided a 3-D model to showcase her technical abilities.

Johnson entered the program thinking she would go into commercial design, but realized she preferred residential. She plans to pursue her bachelor’s degree.

“I want to be an independent designer, but to do that I’m going to have to work for a design firm to grow relationships instead of just jumping out there,” Johnson said.

For more information about Interior Design at CPTC, visit http://www.cptc.edu/programs/interior-design.