Piper Walters Takes 3rd in NKBA Student Design Competition

Published on: February 4, 2010

DCTC IDES alumna wins $1,000 scholarship in prestigious national competition

Piper Walters, DCTC Interior Design Alumna

Piper Walters, a 2009 graduate of the DCTC Interior Design program, made a huge splash in the kitchen project portion of the 2009–2010 National Kitchen & Bath Association Student Design Competition. Facing superb competition from interior design students from around the nation, Walters submitted a design that took third place out of 235 entries.

Thanks to her third-place finish, Walters took home a $1,000 scholarship and complimentary registration to K/BIS® 2010, which includes the awards ceremony, a two-night hotel stay and transportation to the event.

Walters is a 2002 graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Ore. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, having majored in art studio with a minor in art history. After graduating from Willamette, she spent six weeks in New York City working on The Gates, a famous art project in Central Park conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

A graduate of Central High School in Independence, Ore., Walters is originally from Boise, Idaho, and although she loves the Gem State and the Pacific Northwest, she is truly enjoying her time in Minnesota.

“I work full-time at the University of Minnesota Law Library,” she said, “which meant that when I went looking for an interior design program, I needed one with an excellent curriculum and a flexible class schedule.”

Walters found both and was soon taking evening classes twice a week at DCTC. Over the years, she built a strong bond with classmates who shared her schedule. She graduated in December 2009 with her A.A.S. degree in interior design.

The program, which features NKBA accreditation, also gave her a marvelous internship opportunity at House of Dreams, a design/build firm in Shoreview, Minn. As an intern, she enjoyed shadowing professional designers and interacting with clients.

“One aspect of interior design that I’ve discovered and really like is problem solving,” she said. “My art background gives me an appreciation of presentation, aesthetics and visuals, but finding creative solutions to interesting design problems is what I think I love most about my new career.”

For more info on the DCTC Interior Design program, please contact any of the following full-time faculty: