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From Home Furnishing Business
July 23, 2025  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   
The WithIt Scholarship Foundation has given more than $26,000 in various amounts to students for the 2025-26 school year. A total of 15 sophomores and juniors studying for degrees in the home and furnishings industry received the scholarship funding.
Ten of the students were able to attend the WithIt Professional Conference which took place in June in Kansas City, Missouri. There they participated in a welcoming dinner focused on how to network, conference sessions and roundtables designed to help them move forward in their leap to business careers.
Hannah Huff, from the Savannah College of Art & Design said, “I had an incredible time at the conference and left Kansas City with so much more knowledge than I entered with. The connections I made and the insights I gathered really make me feel like I gained an advantage compared to my peers at school. Meeting the other scholarship recipients was very enlightening, and I am thankful for the opportunity to meet peers in my field from across the country. I am so grateful for the welcoming and fun environment the women at WithIt created.”

This year WithIt received funding for the scholarships from the Heritage Home Group Charitable Trust, Andmore and the AHFA Furniture Foundation. 

“We are so thankful to all of the organizations that donate to such deserving young student,” says Paris Gholston, from the Mattress Recycling Council and the VP of scholarship for WithIt. “This year’s applicants were so impressive and engaged. Our industry is fortunate to have so many talented women entering the industry.”

The recipients are as follows:
Noor Abdulrahman, Architecture, University of Houston
Lilianna Allen, Interior Design & French, High Point University
Grace Avery, Textile Design, NC State University
Cristina Battistini, Interior Design, Salem College
Greta Campbell, Interior Design, Texas Christian University
Isabella Faria Guzman, Interior Architecture, University of NC Greensboro
Ashley Gonzalez, Architecture & Art History, University of Houston
Sarah Harris, Interior Design, University of Georgia
Paige Holmes, Architecture, University of Houston
Hannah Huff, Furniture Design, Savannah College of Art & Design
Olivia Jury, Interior Design, University of Georgia
Olivia Salinas, Architecture, University of Houston
Margaret Summers, Interior Design, University of Georgia

Esther Umoh, Architecture, University of Houston

Theia Wetzel, Interior Design, Virginia Commonwealth University

Companies and individuals can donate to the WithIt Scholarship Foundation with a fully tax-deductible donation at withit.org.
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