The 12 students selected as the 2011-2012 Celia Moh Scholars are attending the High Point Market as part of their scholarship award, October 23rd through 25th.
This is the 10th year the scholarship has brought its recipients to the Market for networking, to learn about the scope of careers in the home furnishings industry, to visit showrooms and attend educational seminars and other functions. The trip is provided in full by the scholarship fund, illustrating the commitment the scholarship’s founders have in guiding the top college talent towards careers in home furnishings.
This Market’s schedule includes presentations on sustainability and environmental improvements, product development, marketing, licensing and the role of bloggers in promoting home furnishings. Showroom visits range from rug manufacturers to outdoor furnishings, luxury casegoods and upholstery. A roundtable dinner with top industry executives, designers, editors, and manufacturers on Monday evening gives the students a chance to learn more about the vast array of careers available in the home furnishings arena and to discuss their ideas and goals with a host of professionals.
Since its inception in 2001, Celia Moh scholars have gone on to careers in product design and development, merchandising, retail management, consumer research, interior design, production engineering, retail store design, sales and marketing.
This year’s class of scholars hails from Appalachian State University, High Point University, Kendall College of Art and Design, Mississippi State University and North Carolina State University.
The Celia Moh Scholarship is considered one of the preeminent academic scholarship programs for students bound for careers in the home furnishings industry, paying full-time tuition and fees, room, board and books for its recipients.
Established in 2001 by furniture industry entrepreneur Laurence Moh, best known as the founder of Universal Furniture and later, Fine Furniture Design, to honor his wife, Celia, the program’s strategically managed $3 million endowment investment has provided 65 full scholarships in ten years.
Scholarship candidates are hand selected by their respective universities and then must complete an extensive application questionnaire, write a personal essay, obtain instructors’ recommendations, and provide a college transcript illustrating exceptional academic achievement. A scholarship committee comprised of notable home furnishings industry executives selected the students from a pool of premier candidates from eight universities across the country.
For more information about the Celia Moh Scholarship program, please visit www.mohscholarship.org.