$30,000 Scholarship Awarded to Interior Design Student Janet Chen

Janet Chen, a senior Interior Design student at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, has been awarded a $30,000 Angelo Donghia Senior Scholarship in Interior Design, the largest interior design scholarship in the United States. Chen is one of only 13 students nationwide awarded the scholarship based on a juried competition of portfolio submissions from 69 nominees at accredited institutions. She is currently interning at Gensler Austin as the first prize winner of the Gensler Brinkmann Scholarship. 

Chen's project, "Float Suspend," for a conceptual bath house located on the top two floors of a boutique hotel in Austin, Texas, was part of a design studio taught by Assistant Professor Nerea Feliz.

The Angelo Donghia Foundation’s Senior Student Scholarship Program in Interior Design awards scholarships to seniors in baccalaureate programs in universities and schools of interior design located throughout the United States. A jury comprised of design professionals, educators, and editors determines the winners of the merit-based scholarship that assists students with expenses in their final year of study. 

Eleven UT Austin School of Architecture students have been awarded a total of $300,000 since 2004 from the foundation. Previous Donghia Scholarship winners include Raquel Torres (2015), Ashley Thompson and Jessica Yong (2013), Kimberly Cole (2009), Angela Lauer (2007), Sung Mi Kim and Katie Wooley (2006), Dessislava Boneva and Garrett Seaman (2007), and Lisa Pauli (2004).

According to the foundation: "Angelo Donghia was an internationally recognized icon and source of inspiration to the design world. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, he brought his inimitable signature to private residences, hotels, corporate headquarters, and cruise ships. Donghia the artist, visionary, and entrepreneur built an empire comprised of Interior Design and product companies, a network of the to-the-trade showrooms, and a licensing division. A fine aesthetic and unparalleled business acumen made Donghia a major force in design."