Jennifer Netherton says it was a “full circle experience” that prompted her to choose Interior Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

As a child, she said she had aspirations of becoming an architect. However, after attending a drafting program in high school and working for an architectural firm, she decided to change her focus to the arts and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Victoria.

After graduation, she worked as a consultant for a wallpaper design house that specialized in historic wallpaper designs. There, she worked with movie production designers and interior designers and soon realized that interior design was her true calling.

Currently in her second year of Kwantlen’s Bachelor of Interior Design program — the only Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) accredited interior design baccalaureate program in British Columbia — Netherton is grateful for the support she has received from her instructors, as well as her award donor, ParkLane Homes.

“To attend university, I have to work a great deal, which can be quite exhausting with the intensity of Kwantlen’s hands-on program,” said Netherton. “ParkLane Homes’ generous gift has allowed me to devote more time to my studies. That is something I was not expecting this year and I am so thankful for their support of Kwantlen students.”

Kwantlen’s IDSN program provides students with a four-year intensive education, which focuses on practical design and technical knowledge applicable to a professional career as an interior designer. The program simulates a professional design environment and offers integrated courses and curriculum, and emphasizes learning outcomes and essential skills throughout.