SCC students who captured awards at the AIGA Nebraska Show are, from left, Molli Houlihan, Chasity Vodehnal, Chelsea Honnens, and Kenneth Beyer. Not pictured: Ashley Preister.

Chelsea Honnens won a $500 AIGA Designing Opportunities Scholarship.

Five students in the Graphic Design/Media Arts program at Southeast Community College took home 10 awards at AIGA Nebraska's SHOW 2015 Exhibition Nov. 14.

The event took place at Kaneko in Omaha. Elizabeth Vornbrock, instructor in SCC's program and current vice president of AIGA Nebraska, also was announced as the next president of the organization.

SCC students who captured awards:

Kenneth Beyer, Lincoln, Gold (Promotional Design & Advertising); Silver (Packaging & Product Design); Silver (Photography); Bronze (Photography).

Chasity Vodehnal, Grand Island, Silver (Logo & Identity System).

Ashley Preister, Lindsay, Silver (Corporate Communications); Silver (Packaging & Product Design).

Molli Houlihan, Lincoln, Bronze (Logo & Identity System).

Chelsea Honnens, Lincoln, Bronze (Packaging & Product Design); Bronze (Promotional Design & Advertising).

Sam Rapien, program chair, said the awards won by the students are evidence of the hard work they are putting into the program.

"These AIGA medals are really recognition of the quality work that our students are producing in a wide variety of design disciplines and helps to validate the strength of our comprehensive GDMA program," Rapien said. "Events like this do quite a bit to get more recognition for this program among the design community, which quickly spreads via word-of-mouth. We have already heard from several of our beginning students who came to Graphic Design & Media Arts specifically because they heard that, if you wanted to learn graphic design, Southeast Community College is the place to go. Our faculty and students strive to earn that reputation within the community and hope for it to continue to grow. Recognition like this certainly helps that aim."

SCC students captured the most medals of any school represented, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Metropolitan Community College, and the Creative Center. SCC captured 10 of the 26 awarded for Nebraska.

Rapien also is excited that Vornbrock is becoming the new president of AIGA Nebraska.

"As the biggest, and really only, national organization for graphic designers, her becoming our state chapter's president is a big accomplishment," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of Elizabeth and our students."

Honnens said she was proud to win two AIGA awards and "represent my program among many other excellent students and professionals. People often underestimate the quality of an education that our community colleges can give, so it was very exciting for our program to prove itself in a way by bringing home so many awards."

Honnens receives AIGA

Designing Opportunities Scholarship

Chelsea Honnens, a student in SCC's Graphic Design/Media Arts program, is the recipient of the AIGA Designing Opportunity Scholarship provided by the AIGA Nebraska chapter. AIGA is the national, professional organization for design.

Honnens, a graduate from Lincoln Southwest High School, said she was very excited to be selected for the scholarship.

"The program I am in is very rigorous, so I am only able to work one day a week," Honnens said. "Having the extra money was a wonderful blessing."

Last year AIGA Nebraska announced the first Designing Opportunity Scholarship. The AIGA website says, "Periodically, students and emerging designers need funds to help further their craft. This scholarship was created to help fulfill that need by providing $500 to help benefit the education path of their choice. Any form of design is eligible, let it be web or print design, architecture or engineering, artist or builder . . . the opportunities are vast."

Last year, two students received the scholarship.

As an added bonus, each recipient will receive a one-year AIGA membership or renewal.