Kishwaukee College students in the Floral Design program attended the annual American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) national symposium held in Miami, July 12 - 16. Pictured at the symposium are Floral Design students Beth Edwards and Renee Polanin with Janet Gallagher, Floral Design instructor at Kishwaukee College. At the symposium, Edwards presented a color palette creation on stage with Talmage McLaurin, the publisher of Florist Review Magazine, and Polanin placed second in buffet design in the student competition.
KC floral design students attend national symposium
Kishwaukee College students in the Floral Design program attended the annual American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) national symposium held in Miami, July 12 - 16. Pictured at the symposium are Floral Design students Beth Edwards and Renee Polanin with Janet Gallagher, Floral Design instructor at Kishwaukee College. At the symposium, Edwards presented a color palette creation on stage with Talmage McLaurin, the publisher of Florist Review Magazine, and Polanin placed second in buffet design in the student competition.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
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 Miami, July 12 - 16. Each year, the AIFD Symposium is attended by over 1200 floral designers, design instructors, and design students from across the United States and Canada. Kishwaukee College Floral Design instructor Janet Gallagher attended the symposium with students Renee Polanin and Beth Edwards.
The annual AIFD symposium features the only national student design competition for colleges and universities that have floral design programs. Kishwaukee College's floral design students form one of only 15 student floral design organizations in the U.S sanctioned by AIFD. Gallagher advises the Student American Institute of Floral Design (SAIFD) chapter at Kishwaukee College.
Both Kishwaukee College students participated in the student competition along with 34 other students from across the United States and Canada. Their test consisted of creating four different fresh flower arrangements: a wedding bouquet, buffet piece, sweetheart table centerpiece and two napkin designs. In the competition, the students were given a time limit to complete the design pieces. Each student was given a bucket of fresh flowers and could bring a toolbox with contest-specific items in it. Renee Polanin placed second in buffet design.
This year for the first time the student teams were also asked to design for one of the symposium’s stage programs. Talmage McLaurin, AIFD, the publisher of Florist Review Magazine, asked each student group to design one of the color palettes for the new color trends for the upcoming year and then present their design to the symposium attendees. “Kishwaukee College was assigned the color palette “Rural Route” which was quite fitting for our location,” said Gallagher. “Beth presented on stage with Talmage to discuss our piece. It was a great experience for the students to work in the workroom with the other schools and see all of the other designs being created by wonderful designers, some international.”
Gallagher added, “While our days were spent learning and working for about 15 hours each day, the education and experience were unforgettable. We are very thankful for all of the support the community offers to our floral program. ”
The Floral Design program at Kishwaukee College offers a two-year program that leads to an Associates of Applied Science. The 68-hour program includes coursework in floral arrangement, floral marketing, floral operations, and courses that emphasize specific designs, for example sympathy or wedding arrangements. In addition students take coursework in greenhouse management, bedding plant production, and marketing and have an opportunity to gain experience working on a weekly flower sale on campus. There is also a 20.5 credit hour certificate program in Floral Horticulture.
For more information on the Floral Design Program at Kishwaukee College, contact Janet Gallagher at 815-825-2086, ext. 4610 or visit the Kishwaukee College website at www.kishwaukeecollege.edu. The Fall semester begins August 27; registration is currently in progress. For more information on enrollment and registration for Fall 2012, contact Admissions, Registration and Records at 815-825-2086, ext. 2740 or email arr@kishwaukeecollege.edu.
