Hi, I’m Lindzey Duval, 2017 IIDA Student of the Year, and here are my top five favorite moments at NeoCon! Although every moment was special, there were a handful that were unforgettable.
ACCEPTING THE IIDA STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARD
On stage at Annual Meeting with Cheryl Durst, IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO. (Photography by Elaine Miller Photography)
At the IIDA Annual Meeting, I had the unique opportunity to share my story and experiences on stage when I accepted the Student of the Year Award. It may have been one of the most nerve-racking things I have ever done, but it was also one of the most amazing and unforgettable moments in my life so far. I never expected to feel so much love and support from my family, friends, Texas State University, and the design industry. Accepting the award at the Annual Meeting takes the cake of favorite moments during my experience at NeoCon!
STUDENT DESIGN CHARETTE
This was the third design charette that I have participated in and this one was by far my favorite of the three. As someone who loves working with others, I enjoyed collaborating with students from across the nation from many different universities. Everyone who was part of my team brought their own unique background and thought process to the table and it was great to see our charette project unfold. And taking second place was pretty cool, too!
MEETING NEW FRIENDS + MAKING CONNECTIONS
Accepting 2nd place at the 2017 IIDA Student Design Charette from judges Joseph White, IIDA, NCIDQ, IDEX, LEED AP, director of workplace strategy, design, and management at Herman Miller, and Primo Orpilla, FIIDA, president and co-founder of Studio O+A.
NeoCon brings together people from across the world — I met students and industry professionals I may have never had the chance to meet if I wasn’t there. From Philadelphia and D.C., to California, Illinois, Indiana, and New York, I was fortunate to learn from the unique experiences and backgrounds of each person I met and what is currently happening in the design field where they live.
IIDA COOL GALA
Opening reception at COOL with Doug Shapiro, Ind. IIDA, vice president of the IIDA International Board of Directors.
If you happen to be unfamiliar with the COOL Gala,think of it as the design Oscars. Sounds fancy, huh? It is! Everyone was head-to-toe glam celebrating design excellence and some pretty amazing projects from this year’s Interior Design Competition and Will Ching Design Competition. I enjoyed chatting with everyone and dancing the night away. Shout out to OFS Brands for inviting me and for sponsoring my award. They are total rock stars!
THE SHOWROOMS AT THE MART
This was my first year at NeoCon and it is safe to say that I was blown away by the creativity and thought put into each showroom this year. It made standing in those long elevator lines worth it! If you’ve been to NeoCon, you know what I am talking about. Seeing everyone’s hard work and research come to life was so rewarding. Plus, get ready for some great new products coming our way this year. I cannot express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to attend because of IIDA! Thank you to everyone who made my experience so great.
Lindzey Duval is a member of the IIDA Texas/Oklahoma Chapter. You can view the rest of her – along with other IIDA Members – NeoCon experience on Instagram by following #IIDAtakeover.
IIDA | Design Matters 