MALTA – Students and faculty from the floral design program in the Kishwaukee College horticulture department attended the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) National Symposium held in Las Vegas last month. Each year, floral designers, design instructors, and design students from across the U.S. and Canada attend the AIFD Symposium. Kish floral design instructor and AIFD chapter advisor Janet Gallagher attended the symposium with students Hayley Krull, DeKalb; Peyton Lamps, La Salle; and Abby Martin, Oregon.

The Kish students participated in various competitions. Students worked within a time constraint to complete design pieces utilizing fresh flowers and a toolbox of limited, contest-specific items. Lamps placed fifth for her wedding bouquet and Krull received seventh for the interpretation design. Overall, the Kish team placed sixth in the competition.

The three students received support through the Ruth Ashelford Pollock Horticulture Internship Scholarship via the Kishwaukee College Foundation to offset the cost of travel to the event.

“I am so proud of our students,” Gallagher comments. “They competed at a high-level and created unique designs that utilized the elements and principles they’ve learned. It was a great networking opportunity for all of us, and our students were enthusiastic to represent Kish.”

The annual AIFD symposium features the only national student design competition for colleges and universities that have floral design programs. Kish’s floral design students form one of only 16 student floral design organizations in the U.S sanctioned by AIFD.