WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., April 20, 2015 — Springtime is the time for home improvements and students at West Liberty University joined the effort as the winners of the Krise Hall Lounge renovation contest were announced recently.
“The winning student design team is Hayden Blazer and Miranda Snell,” Marcella Snyder said. Snyder is the director of Housing and Residence Life and the associate dean of Student Services. The contest was open to all students and designs could be submitted by individuals or by teams of students. More than 20 students submitted plans.
Both Snell and Blazer are rising sophomores.
Blazer is from Glen Dale, W.Va., and is an accounting major. He lived in nearby Curtis Hall this year. He’s also a member of the Hilltopper tennis team and president of Phi Beta Lambda, a business leaders organization. He plans to become a CPA eventually.
Snell is from Pittsburgh, Pa. and is an exercise physiology major. She lived in Krise Hall this year and will be a resident assistant next year, hopefully in Krise. Both are pleased to be chosen for this unique honor.
“As soon as the contest was announced, we knew we wanted to do this. We’re really proud of the fact that we won, since we went up against some serious competition from other students majoring in graphic design and art,” said Blazer. “Since I have experience in budget training, I focused on the budget of the project.”
Snell was more involved in the color and interior design decisions.
The team’s goal was to redesign the space as much as possible for the best price. Their design plans include repainting the large room, adding new furniture, including different height tables and dividing the space up to create a cozier, less industrial looking lounge.
“I have an emotional attachment to Krise due to being in the Honors College, which met in that space regularly, so it’s an important part of my West Liberty experience. We sat in the lobby and did homework there every night at first. That’s where I met all my friends,” said Snell.
“It’s meaningful to have my name on a plaque in that lobby. I’m grateful for this opportunity,” she said. Her father, who is an interior designer in Pittsburgh, was impressed that the University was asking for input from students.
“He thought it was really cool that the school gave us the chance to design it rather than just doing it themselves,” she said. The design the students came up with include a nod to the hilltop location of campus.
“We thought an earthy lobby makes sense, since we are in the mountains. The trees and hillsides create a rustic and warm feeling. So we went with that theme and included a comfortable, homey color scheme and design,” she said. Snell has always been “fairly artistic,” as she puts it.
“I was one of the planners of the youth rally at my church so I’ve been active in creating backgrounds. I also was an intern for my father in the summer,” she said. Randy Snell is the principal designer with Archetype design firm.
“Our sense of creativity pulled us through. We asked other students what they’d like to see and tried to include their thoughts,” added Blazer.
“We are pleased at how the contest turned out and plan to include some suggestions from other teams but overall, selected the design by Miranda and Hayden as the top submission. We congratulate them and all the groups for their work,” Snyder said.
Krise Hall includes two towers and five floors to each tower, housing more than 300 students, both freshmen and upper class students, male and female. Ground was broken to build the new hall in 1970, as a response to growing enrollment.
The top design team was selected by a committee consisting of Snyder, Vice President of Finance Stephanie Hooper, Area Coordinator of Housing Operations Chris McPherson, and WLU graduate student Luke Tacosik, a resident assistant in Krise Hall. McPherson manages Krise Hall.
Winners receive a prize totaling $2,000 ($1,000 in cash prize and $1,000 in scholarship), and will have a plaque with their names placed on the wall in Krise Hall. In the case of a team win, like Blazer and Snell, the prize will be divided equally between the two students.
The large lounge includes free Wi-Fi, television, vending machines and a pool table. Design requirements were to include renovations in lighting, flooring, paint, furniture, artwork and entertainment options, but partial plans also were accepted. Students submitting plans were asked to include budgets.
Students welcome the opportunity to add some new life and color to this popular student hangout, according to Aaron Allman, who along with Kaitlin Ward, also competed in the design contest.
Both are former residents of Krise Hall and enjoyed the design competition.
“We’re looking forward to the fresh look and comfortable addition to this busy spot,” Allman said.
The renovations will be completed over the summer months.
For more information, please email msnyder@westliberty.edu.