April 2025

The NKBA West Michigan chapter launched its first-ever student design competition this winter and had overwhelming student engagement. They received entries from 3 local schools and over 40 students. They celebrated the winners, Samantha VanHuizen, Akaylah Cramer, and Kris Snyder, as well as several honorable mentions, during their KBIS spotlight event, which featured 18 vendors and a panel discussion on holistic living. Thanks to a generous grant from the Skilled Labor Fund, NKBA West Michigan was able to sponsor all attending students (over 25) at no cost. It was a wonderful capstone moment to the competition, for which planning had been in the works for over a year.

 Local board members began fostering connections with students and professors at several lunch-and-learn sessions at two major colleges in 2023 and 2024.  Wanting to deepen interest in the kitchen and bath industry,  NKBA West Michigan worked with the professors to create a student-based design competition.  In partnership with them, NKBA West Michigan reviewed what timelines, goals, and standards would be challenging but not overwhelming for students with their already heavy workloads.  One of the professors even worked with NKBA West Michigan to include the project in their spring syllabus for the students as an extra credit offering.  The resulting competition guidelines allowed the students enough freedom to be creative and challenged them to dive deep into NKBA guidelines for bathrooms and recommendations for universal design principles and products.  NKBA West Michigan released a project brief to the students with a customer bio, floor plan, and several product lines that needed to be included.  The challenge for the students was to convert an existing bathroom floor plan into a trendy but accessible space for a couple who wanted to remain in their home long-term.  

“As students we don't get the opportunity to see our designs come to life, so being able to see the structure and it's real world impact and affect is the biggest thing I'm most excited for in (my) future. “ said Akaylah Cramer the second place winner.

“I am very interested in research-based design, and specifically neurodiverse/inclusive design. Not only do I love considering the intricacies of these topics while designing, but I love doing the research too! “ said Kris Snyder  “Thank you for starting this competition and giving an awesome opportunity to students!” said Kris Snyder, third place winner.