A new scholarship for interior design students at the Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University is now available thanks to former faculty member and interior designer Sandy Fraser.
The $5,000 annual Sandy Fraser Award for Outstanding Design goes to an interior design student who has demonstrated research, experimentation and creative problem-solving skills to achieve forward-thinking and innovative solutions that have the possibility of transforming people’s lives. It will be awarded to a student with the highest GPA for Design Studio courses over all four years at KPU.
“We are grateful to Sandy Fraser for this generous gift for our students. She has been a valuable part of the KPU and Wilson School of Design family, guiding students on their education journey and now she continues to help those students financially and in celebration of design excellence,” says Andhra Goundrey, dean of the Wilson School of Design.
“I started this endowment to give back to the design community,” says Fraser. “I have always been impassioned by design and the opportunity to improve people’s lives by never settling for ‘just good enough’ design.”
Fraser spent 36 years as a successful interior designer before making the transition to instructor at KPU. She says although there were many awards, there was nothing for an interior design student.
“This opportunity became an obsession until recently when I was finally able to make it happen.”
The first award went to Alexa Ketilson, who has just completed her Bachelor of Interior Design in April 2020. Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she moved to Vancouver in 2016 to attend the Wilson School of Design.
“I feel very fortunate to have been a part of a program that has so much support from faculty, the school and the alumni that make awards like this possible and available to students such as myself,” says Ketilson.
She says the award helps relieve the burden of debt as she starts her career.
“I wish to give my sincere thanks to Sandy Fraser for her generosity and for her passion towards supporting the next generation of designers to come out of The Wilson School of Design.”
Fraser was part of the KPU family for 10 years and over that time developed enduring connections with colleagues and students.
“KPU’s studio-based curriculum makes it an exemplary environment in which to learn not only design skills but the design process, where obstacles are considered challenges and possibilities and an opportunity to create better outcomes,” she adds.