Chattahoochee Tech interior design students have made the world a brighter place for a child with special needs thanks to a class project that was conducted in partnership with the nonprofit Sunshine on a Ranney Day.
The students planned every detail of a wheelchair accessible dream bedroom and bathroom makeover for 10-year-old Caitlin Davis.
A grand reveal was held Aug. 12, with a television news crew on site to help capture the moment when she and her parents saw her new bedroom and bathroom for the first time. The home located in Alpharetta is a short drive from Chattahoochee Tech’s Woodstock campus, where the college’s Interiors program is based.
The students focused carefully on each design detail as well as the bigger picture of project management. They researched materials which ranged from tiles, grout, countertops and paint, to fixtures and wallpaper. They also met with vendors, many of whom donated the items needed for this project. The students also made use of AutoCAD, computer-aided design technology, in order to create custom ceiling lighting butterfly shapes, which then were cut by computer numerical control machines.
Included among the students working on this class project was Cassie Keeling, who graduated last spring with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Interiors. She is now employed full time by Ecraft, a local company specializing in residential renovations and new home construction, which also volunteered their services for this project.
Chattahoochee Tech Interiors program alumna Barbara “Babby” Norsworthy, who is also a Georgia Tech alumna, was instrumental in connecting the college with Sunshine on a Ranney Day. Following a 28-year career, she returned to school in order to pursue her interest in interior design. As a Chattahoochee Tech student, she began working with Sunshine for a Ranney Day through the internship program required by the college.
Regarding the nonprofit’s most recent project, Norsworthy said that the Chattahoochee Tech students “brought a fresh perspective to the makeover design.”
The team who worked on this project included Lucretia Cochran, Amber Farist, Hanna Funes-Cruz, Lauren Holt, Allyson James, Cassie Keeling, Jamie Petraglia, Sierra Smith and Jamie Thorn.
For the past eight years, Sunshine on a Ranney Day has worked through partnerships and donors to provide no-cost home renovations valued at tens of thousands of dollars for children with special needs using top-of-the-line design and construction.