Interior Design Student Wins Scholarship

Doha Irbash, who is majoring in Interior Design (ID) at HFC, recently won a $750 scholarship from Gorman’s, a furniture retailer/manufacturer based in Farmington Hills.

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Gorman’s wanted to support ID students enrolled in college/university ID programs all across the state of Michigan.

“I was really excited when I learned I won. It was a shock because I didn’t apply until the last minute – the very last minute,” said Irbash.

A lifelong Dearborn resident, Irbash is in her second year at HFC. A 2013 alumna of the American School of Correspondence in Illinois, Irbash is slated to graduate with her associate degree in ID in 2016. She tentatively plans to transfer to Wayne State University in Detroit, where she will continue her education. Her ultimate goal is to own her own ID business.

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants from accredited ID programs were required to submit an essay about their career goals and three samples of their student work. According to Karen Wilmering, HFC ID program coordinator, Irbash was one of four scholarship winners and the only student from HFC to win. The other three winners came from four-year educational institutions: Michigan State University (MSU) and the Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD) of Ferris State University (FSU) in Grand Rapids.

“That’s some very prestigious company,” said Wilmering. “I’m very proud of Doha’s achievement. She is a motivated student who is passionate about interior design. I look forward to following her career as a professional designer. She sets high standards for herself and I believe has the entrepreneurial spirit necessary to successfully manage her own ID business in the future,” she added.