High School Students Look “Inside” for Inspiration

Pictured: Lingfei Zhao, a sophomore from Syosset High School, took first place in the Department of Interior Design's annual competition for “Hidden City.”

For the fourth time, NYIT’s Department of Interior Design hosted an annual showcase for emerging high school design talent. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors from across Long Island were invited to submit their design projects based on the theme “The Inside.” Their creative interpretation could be a drawing, painting, photograph, computer-aided drawing, rendering, sculpture, or mixed-media collage.

Eighty-one students from eleven high schools entered the competition. A jury of NYIT faculty members from the School of Architecture and Design and the Department of Digital Arts and Design, as well as industry associates judged the art work.

Three winners were announced at a gallery show and reception on April 10 at Education Hall on the Old Westbury campus. The winners received prize money and a code to waive the application fee to NYIT.

More than 350 students have entered the competition since its inception in 2014. The next competition is scheduled for February 2019.

The winners are:

• 1st Place ($300): Lingfei Zhao, 10th Grade, Syosset High School, for “Hidden City”
• 2nd Place ($200): Briana Parchment, 12th Grade, Elmont Memorial High School, for “Broken”
• 3rd Place ($100): Zachary Olewnicki, 12th Grade, East Rockaway High School, for “Imprinted Madness”
• Honorable Mention: Richard Lau, 12th Grade, Great Neck South High School, for “Visionary”

Second place went to Briana Parchment, a senior from Elmont Memorial High School, who created “Broken.”

Zachary Olewnicki, a senior from East Rockaway High School, won third place for “Imprinted Madness.”

The honorable mention was given to Richard Lau, a senior from Great Neck South High School, for “Visionary.”