Three young women studying to become the Island’s next interior designers have been given a cash boost towards their education.Chakeya Ottley, 24, received $3,500 from the Bermuda Society of Interior Designers (BSID); Tiara Ming, 22, and Kimberly Fraser, 25 were both given $3,000.The BSID scholarship fund has been in place since 1992. Its aim is to help talented young Bermudians realise their goals in the interior design profession through higher education, said organisation president Darcy Robertson.BSID holds an annual bowl-a-thon to raise money for the scholarship fund; this year’s event was held at Warwick Lanes on June 23.Mr Robertson said: “By providing some financial support, we help qualified candidates obtain an outstanding post-secondary education and we are able to make a real difference in our community.”Over the past 13 years, the BSID has raised more than $115,000 for scholarship recipients.Ms Ottley, a student at the New York School of Interior Design, said the money would help to ease the financial burden on her family in the next academic year.“There are so many costs involved [in terms of university]. So, for me, any money makes a huge difference.“It takes a weight off my mind because my mom is busy helping with a majority of the finances and she has three other children in college. If I am able to do what I need to do to obtain more money than I feel a lot better easing the stress off of her as well as myself.”London-based student Ms Ming, who attends the Interior Design School in the UK, said she was hesitant about applying for the scholarship at first.“I definitely needed the funds for this course, because my schooling has been really, really expensive and of course I was scared because I have never applied for any scholarship and I was a bit afraid of the rejection, but I just went for it.”All the applicants had to write an essay, including details about their personal history, career goals and ideas for improving the local community.Ms Fraser wrote about her ultimate goal of becoming an interior design teacher at the Bermuda College. She said: “I feel like a lot of students going out to the United States and Europe really don’t know fully what interior design involves.“[Through teaching a college level course,] I would just want to give them some background before they get thrown out there.”She said watching television shows on HGTV led her to believe that designing a space was simple — but there is a lot more to it. “It’s not just about the decorating, but the space planning and doing the drawings by hand or on the computer.“You have to know your measurements, so math is important, and you have to know your clients and be a people person.”The young women admitted they found the interior design course load extremely demanding. Ms Ottley said: “[Previously] I would never stay at school later than I have to or think about working on weekends, but with this course I was there every day, including Sundays until the school closed.“When it came to finals I would be at school 24/7 and only get three hours sleep, if any.”While living and working abroad for a few years sounded appealing to the girls, they also expressed an interest in coming back to work in Bermuda.Ms Ming said: “I would like to work in London for at least five years to gain some experience, then hopefully bring back what I have learned to Bermuda.“I want to expand and broaden minds of Bermudians and get more clients interested in stepping out of their comfort zones and expressing themselves through style, form and functionality.”Ms Ming first considered design as a potential career when she was in her early teens. She would watch shows on television and try to adopt some of those techniques into her own home.“I was brought up in a traditional cottage and would try to rearrange the furniture and change the colours, but sometimes it didn’t really work. It seemed easy, but it’s not.”Ms Fraser is currently in her final year studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design.As a teenager she helped her uncle by giving him decorating ideas to remodel his house. She said the best part of the design process was “just seeing the reaction of the clients when your work is finished”.Useful website: www.bsid.bm.