IIDA Student of the Year Sponsored by OFS
AwardsThe IIDA Student of the Year Sponsored by OFS award recognizes an IIDA Student Member who has significantly impacted their school’s interior design program through outstanding leadership, insight, and involvement.
Award Winners
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2025 Student of the YearNitya Reddy Cheruku, Student IIDA
- Nitya Sanjana Reddy Cheruku, Student IIDA, is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design with a minor in ecological practice at California College of the Arts. She also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Sri Venkateshwara College of Architecture in Hyderabad, India. Cheruku serves as an interior design program assistant and material studio monitor at her college, where she is dedicated to fostering a collaborative learning environment. She is also the Vice President of her IIDA Campus Center, assisting with event coordination, mentorship, and industry engagement. Her academic accomplishments include a Gensler summer internship and being awarded the 2024 Angelo Donghia Foundation Senior Student National Scholarship.
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2024 Student of the YearEmily Hatcher, Student IIDA
- Emily Hatcher, Student IIDA, is completing her degree at Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and minors in Studio Art and Graphic and Industrial Design. Emily grew up loving all things artistic and looks forward to using her passion for creativity in her future endeavors in the design industry. Emily is involved in Auburn University’s interior design community, primarily through her involvement in AU Societies—the student chapter of IIDA and ASID. After being elected as co-president last spring, she facilitated initiatives aimed at enhancing professional development, fostering industry connections, and providing access to design resources.
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2023 Student of the YearEspe Zivkovic, Student IIDA
- Espe Zivkovic, Student IIDA, graduates in Spring 2023 as an interior design student from Bellevue College, and member of the IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter. Originally from Colombia, she has a degree in industrial design, and worked as a furniture designer among other creative roles. Upon deciding to change career paths and moving to Seattle, Zivkovic began her interior design studies with the idea of combining industrial and interior design knowledge for a holistic approach. She found her way to IIDA through a local drawing club, and through IIDA, she found her voice and confidence as part of the local student community. She is the 2022-23 Student Council President for the IIDA Puget Sound Campus Center organizing events that help students with networking, finding mentors, internships, and more. Zivkovic placed third place in the 2022 IIDA Student Design Charette at NeoCon and is currently completing an internship at CRTKL.
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2022 Student of the YearHailey Fuller, Student IIDA
- Hailey Fuller, Student IIDA, ASID, recently received a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Auburn University’s CIDA accredited program. She is active in her local IIDA chapter and campus center and served as the Public Relations Officer for an on-campus organization for members of IIDA and ASID. In 2021, she won Best of Students for Corporate/Office Design at the Alabama Chapter IDIES. As a student, she served in various leadership roles on campus including being an ambassador for the College of Human Sciences, a teaching assistant for multiple studio courses, and a CIDA ambassador. Fuller’s passions for sustainable design led her to earn a minor in sustainability studies and become an accredited LEED Green Associate.
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2021Jen Khor, Student IIDA, 2021 Student of the Year
- Jen is a student at the California State University, Long Beach and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture. Alongside her active role in IIDA, where she is fostering her dream of becoming an impactful interior designer, she has also held various leadership positions in the interior design community including as vice president of the Design Student Association, student senator and environmental affairs officer at SD Mesa College, CA and treasurer of her ASID Student Chapter. Additionally, she has worked as an interior design intern at Nevermore Group in Penang, Malaysia and Retail Design Collaborative in Long Beach. Jen is a stickler for sustainability and believes that design should foster a deeper connection between people and space as well as minimizing its overall environmental impact.
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2020Tyler Hatton, Student IIDA, 2020 Student of the Year
- Tyler is a 2020 graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in interior design and a focus on retail design strategy and sustainability. During his time as a student, Tyler remained active with IIDA, holding the position of co-leader of the IIDA Ohio State Campus Center since 2017. In 2019, he received first place in the IIDA Student Design Charette at NeoCon and has also been involved in a number of additional design competitions, including the Big 10 Student Design Challenge, sponsored by Herman Miller, and the Innovation in Material Product Design, Sponsored by Mohawk Group. Hatton has held positions with BHDP Architecture and L Brands and has been a speaker and presenter at several interior design events and conferences, including the IIDA Chapter Leadership Council.
Important Dates
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Applications Open
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Applications Close
Contact
For more information, contact Cody Czmyr, Director of Member Services, at cczmyr@iida.org.
Eligibility
Candidates must be an IIDA Student Members in good standing for a minimum of one (1) year. Students applying for 2026 must have a join date of January 1, 2025, or earlier.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to be available to travel at no cost to them, to accept the award at the IIDA Annual Meeting and Chicago Design Week in June 2026. Additionally, the recipient will need to be available to participate in an immersive two-day experience with OFS at their headquarters in Indiana, date to be agreed upon by both parties.
Winners:
The IIDA Student of the Year will receive:
- $5,000 cash award sponsored by OFS Brands
- Complementary IIDA membership
- Award presentation during the 2026 IIDA Annual Meeting
- Round-trip coach airfare and a one-night hotel stay in Chicago to attend the award presentation during the IIDA Annual Meeting
- Optional participation in the IIDA National Student Charette and reception
- An immersive experience at the OFS headquarters in Huntingburg, IN inclusive of travel and accommodation for two (2) days and one (1) night
- A feature on IIDA.org, Design Matters, the flagship e-newsletter of IIDA, and QUAD, the quarterly IIDA Student member e-newsletter
- Official digital assets, including logos for self-promotion
- Coverage and mention on IIDA’s social media accounts, and in an official press release distributed to leading industry outlets and media partners