While some people enter design early in their professional lives, for many others it’s a second or third career. For LeAnne Hlavka, Student IIDA, first-place winner of IIDA’s 2025 Student Design Competition, her journey was anything but linear. Before stepping into the world of design, she was involved in performing arts for many years, participating in color guard, or flag spinning, in school and then working as a dance instructor. After that, she was a flight attendant for eight years — but after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she pivoted to another career she always had a passion for, design.
Hlavka’s interest in design started with her grandmother’s home, where Hlavka lived for a short period. Her grandmother resided in Northern California in an Eichler home, a mid-century modern style house by real estate developer Joseph Eichler who built thousands of homes in California in the 1950s and ’60s. Characterized by an attractive mix of indoor-outdoor living, large windows offering lots of natural light, clean lines and wide-open living spaces, these homes helped define residential aesthetics and standards still popular today. “Having that relationship with her house, learning more about it and also living in an area with a lot of culture and history, I started to appreciate the intentionality behind historic design,” said Hlavka.
Unfortunately, after her grandmother’s passing, the home was bought and torn down, which devastated Hlavka; she knew the space, filled with memories and historic design, deserved to be protected. This experience was just one of the few reasons she decided to look at design as a career path — she feels a deep connection to the built environment. Highly affected by sensory elements like “lighting, color, and comfort level,” Hlavka says her “environment and space has always been something that I am keenly aware of.”
She realized she valued design for more than just aesthetic reasons; she appreciated its impact, history, and capability to change the way someone interacts with a space. “I felt like I wanted to be an advocate, protector, owner, and creator of really important design. I knew that I cared at a deeper level but I didn't know what that would lead me to,” said Hlavka.
During the pandemic, Hlavka, a flight attendant at the time, had a six-month furlough. In that period, she decided to apply to interior design school. She found the perfect fit at Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach, California, where she got involved with IIDA. In 2024, her professors nominated her to attend the IIDA Southern California Chapter’s student design charette, held at Gensler’s Newport Beach office; the experience brought unexpected opportunities and connections. “Being able to work with other students at the charette, being exposed to how they operate and what they’re learning in school and putting all that together was really valuable to me,” said Hlavka, whose team won first place. “Doing well confirmed for me that I can do this.”
Image courtesy of LeAnne Hlavka
At the design charette, she learned about IIDA’s Student Design Competition and decided to apply. But before starting her project, tragedy struck. Her father, who had been fighting cancer for two years, died two days before Christmas. This hit her family hard; she struggled to continue with the design competition, on top of her other responsibilities, including her design studies and parenting (she and her husband have a 3-year-old son). “I just didn't know if I could humanly get it done. Being in that really acute stage of grief, your mind and your focus is just not there,” Hlavka said.
Having a strong support system was key to pushing ahead and achieving her goals, she said. Her husband helped out in every way he could, motivating her, consoling her, and taking on more financial responsibility since Hlavka was in school. But sometimes external motivation isn't enough — you have to dig deep down to motivate yourself. That’s exactly what she did.
Image courtesy of LeAnne Hlavka
“I’ve always been someone who’s been somewhat competitive. Not in an egotistical way, but more of an internal motivation,” Hlavka said. She knew that it would be perfectly understandable to step away from the student design competition, to give herself “time and grace.” Then again, “I knew I would have regretted it if I had let this opportunity pass. I had to pull back and keep that bigger picture in mind. I had to look at this opportunity as a stepping stone to building my resume and portfolio to get a job in the industry,” Hlavka added.
For this year’s IIDA Student Design Competition, the challenge involved designing critical areas within a new adult inpatient behavioral unit. Hlavka submitted a project titled “Sunshine: Day 1 Behavioral Health Clinic,” which featured a thoughtful, holistic design solution focused on how natural light affects the body mentally and physically through circadian rhythms. She set out to model these same circadian rhythms in the design itself to support end-users’ patient journey and overall well-being. While Hlavka is fascinated by all kinds of design, she’s particularly drawn to healthcare spaces; she’s intrigued by the research and science that inform effective healthcare design.
Completing and submitting this project amid her grief, then winning first place, gives her hope and a sense of possibility. “Receiving this award is validation that my work is headed in the right direction, and that there is a place for my design perspective in the current industry. This award means a lot to me on a personal level,” Hlavka said. “I will mark this achievement as an example of perseverance, and know my dad would find the win to be really novel.”
Image courtesy of LeAnne Hlavka
Image courtesy of LeAnne Hlavka
Finishing up her last term of school this fall, Hlavka will graduate with her design degree in December and looks forward to finding a job in commercial interiors, ideally with the chance to work on adaptive reuse projects. IIDA has been a huge part of her journey, she says — from design competitions to the Student Mentoring Program, which she participated in this summer — and continues to support her even now.
“IIDA has been my bridge to seeing so many things and gaining so much exposure. I’m just so grateful that I have been able to stay involved,” she said. “IIDA cares about students, nurturing them and providing these opportunities.” Investing time and effort in the Student Design Competition allowed her to stretch herself, proving to be “an excellent opportunity to test my skill sets on large-scale projects that are relevant to today’s commercial design industry.” She encourages other students to do the same. “Regardless of the outcome, you will grow so much just by pushing yourself throughout the process and have a wealth of knowledge to apply to your future projects.”
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