06/10/20

AMES, Iowa — Samantha Kragel, a recent graduate of the Iowa State University College of Design, is the recipient of the 2020 Janice Peterson Anderson Medallion Award.

Established in 1968 in memory of Janice Peterson Anderson, a 1960 graduate in home economics education, this award is presented annually to an outstanding graduating senior in graphic design, interior design or integrated studio arts who “shows the greatest potential for distinguished work in design.”

One student from each of these programs is first selected to receive the Janice Peterson Anderson Senior Award based on scholarship, creative ability, motivation and productivity throughout their studies at Iowa State. These three students then submit portfolios of work for review by a faculty committee, which determines the medallion winner.

Honorees receive a JPA Silver Medallion featuring Anderson’s continuous-line monogram, and their names are added to a plaque displayed in the College of Design’s administrative office.

Kragel, from Marion, graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in interior design from Iowa State in May. She had served as visual design director of the university’s SIR Magazine from 2016-17, treasurer of ISU GENRE Club from 2017-18 and Buchanan House Cabinet event coordinator from 2016-18. She studied abroad with the College of Design Rome Program in fall 2018.

Kragel completed a luxury residential design internship with London Walder Interior Design in summer 2018 and a commercial design internship with INVISION in Des Moines in summer 2019. She won the 2018 Cyclone Voice competition. She placed second in the residential category of the 2019 Sherwin-Williams Student Design Challenge and was selected to present her project on “A Housing Model for Adults with Autism” at the EDRA51 (Environmental Design Research Association) conference in 2020.

“This award is special to me in multiple ways as it allowed me to represent my interior design abilities and fine art skills. I have been an artist since I was a child, and I became a designer during my time at Iowa State. Knowing that my professors believed in me, saw my potential and found me to be the best candidate to represent the interior design program was such an honor,” Kragel said.

“I poured everything I had into my portfolio, from polished projects to small pieces I have done in my free time. My portfolio also represents a team of supporters who helped me to grow and learn through my education. Receiving the JPA Medallion is an incredible validation of my hard work and a reflection of the people who impacted me during my college career.”

Kragel began a position as an interior designer with Populous in Kansas City on June 8.

Contacts

Samantha Kragel, Interior Design alumna, sakragel@iastate.edu
Lee Cagley, Interior Design, lcagley@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, hsauer@iastate.edu

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