For four days in September, four Interior Design students from Ohio State’s Department of Design headed to Miami to participate in the ASID GATHER Conference and SCALE Student events. This was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jaipur Living, a company whose value of sustainable practices aligns with our department’s ethos. Connecting with Professor Rebekah Matheny at NeoCon, Jon Strassner, the chief sustainability officer for ASID, proposed the idea of sponsorship Ohio State students to Jaipur. Realizing our shared values and the potential impact this experience could have on students’ careers today and in the future, Jaipur launched the application process asking students to submit 1 design project and an essay on why they wished to attend the conference. Jaipur then selected 3 fourth-year students, Fabian Perez, Ben Chamberlin, and Madison Hildebrand along with third-year student Morgan Verb to attend. The generous sponsorship covered all their expenses, including purchasing their ASID membership which extends their engagement beyond the conference.

Read on to learn more about what this experience meant to the students who participated.