HGTV Showhouse a Winner for Cassandra LaPorte

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Cassandra LaPorte shows her renderings of the designs for Showhouse Showdown. Photo by Tasha Johnson

CAZENOVIA, NY (04/06/2012)(readMedia)-- DO NOT RELEASE UNTIL 2 p.m. APRIL 6, 2012

A lot of skill and talent and a little bit of luck made Cassandra LaPorte's interior design internship a huge success. Luck was on her side when she sent an email to Christine Jones, of CJ Interior Design Studio in Pittsburgh, Pa., to see if an internship was available. Luck was on her side when it happened that Jones was selected to design rooms in a home for HGTV's Showhouse Showdown. All the rest was skill.

LaPorte, of Hadlyme, Ct., is an interior design major at Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, N.Y. She assisted Jones with many projects during her internship in the summer of 2011, one of which was preparing design renderings and assisting with collecting furnishings for the Showhouse Showdown project, filmed in Oakmont, Pa.

The show's concept is for two designers to design and furnish similar houses in a new development, with just four weeks to complete the project. On the April 6 episode, the house for which LaPorte prepared renderings of the design concept was selected as the winner by area residents who toured the homes. (www.hgtv.com/showhouse-showdown/oakmont-pennsylvania-showdown-the-fire-and-water-wall-vs-the-wall-of-mirrors/index.html )

LaPorte notes that in the real world, the design and the time it takes to complete depends largely on the client. "Some clients will make up their minds in a matter of a few hours," she says. "Others have a harder time deciding and could keep things going for well over a year. A good designer just needs to know how to listen to what the client wants, and be willing to go back and keep working."

Unlike most prospective students preparing to go to college, LaPorte was not at all worried about choosing a major, as her interests are wide and varied. She says, "I initially chose the equine major because I have been riding horses since I was 12, and started learning how to train them when I was 16, so it felt like a good fit. But then I changed my mind."

Just a few months before freshman year started, she decided to follow a passion. She chose interior design because of her love for art, and a desire to have a definite structure to guide her work. She says, "I have a tendency to start something on a whim, and never want to stop. There are very few things I don't enjoy, so I wasn't too worried about where I would end up when I went to college. And the longer I stayed with interior design, the more I loved it."

Offered a Presidential Leadership Scholarship, LaPorte accepted and made a visit to the campus. "I was really happy with my decision," she says. "I loved the size of the campus, and felt really at home here on my first visit."

"The best thing about Caz is the small campus environment," says LaPorte. "I'm really glad to have been able to form friendships with so many professors, and it's a really great feeling to know that they want us to do as well as we can. As an art major, being able to work one-on-one is so important that I couldn't imagine a school that didn't work like this."

LaPorte's varied interests have been noted by her professors. Maggie Judge, visiting instructor of interior design, says, "It has been a pleasure to watch Cassie grow and mature as a student, as well as become a more thoughtful designer. She has many, many varied interests and a whole list of things that she wants to accomplish!"

Image: Cassandra LaPorte shows her renderings of Christine Jones' designs for Showhouse Showdown. Photo by Tasha Johnson.

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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