Mary Campbell Gray
Samantha Sullivan
Natalie Watson
By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University
Three Mississippi State interior design majors are receiving national recognition from a prominent organization that promotes the advancement of professional women in the home and furnishings industries.
Juniors Mary Campbell Gray of West Point and Samantha K. Sullivan of Jackson, Tennessee, and senior Natalie E. Watson of Olive Branch each are receiving academic scholarships from the North Carolina-based WithIt Foundation.
Watson is receiving a $3,000 scholarship; Sullivan, $2,500; and Gray, $1,500.
Beth Miller, MSU professor and interior design program director, praised the students for taking the initiative to complete the WithIt Foundation Academic Scholarship application process. She encourages all interior design students to apply for scholarships, internships and other opportunities that can enrich their MSU education, as well as prepare them for productive careers following graduation.
“We are excited and proud that Natalie, Samantha and Mary Campbell seized this opportunity provided by the WithIt Foundation. The scholarship monies and recent trip to South Carolina will benefit their design education and careers,” she said.
Founded in 1997, the WithIt Foundation is a not-for-profit organization driven by its belief that women should play a major role in the growth and future of the home and furnishings industries.
WithIt established its scholarship foundation to recognize and nurture the academic endeavors of preeminent college students enrolled full time in fields of study that would logically lead to careers in the home and furnishings industries. Since 1999, the organization has awarded over $75,000 in scholarships and provided internship, mentoring and networking opportunities to qualified young women from around the U.S. For more, visit www.withit.org.
Accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, MSU’s interior design curriculum provides a broad background in interior elements, materials, sources and practical experiences. For more, contact Miller at 662-325-7689 or BMiller@caad.msstate.edu.
Additional information about the College of Architecture, Art and Design and its interior design program can be found at www.caad.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.