Education Motivation

Broadview Elementary School in North Lauderdale
hosted a Career Day on May 14th.
Science teacher Drew Gerlach invited
P&H’s interior designer Marisa Leibmann
to participate in this important event
for his 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes.

Marisa was in good company!

Other participants at this Title 1 school
included the Mayor of N. Lauderdale,
representatives from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office,
US Marines, and even an FBI agent!

The prime purpose of this event
was to provide motivation for education—
to help teach the children
the benefits of staying in school.

Based on the popularity of shows
such as Extreme Home Makeover and Trading Spaces,
many of the students were familiar
with what Interior Designers do.
Marisa provided an overview
of the designer’s role in planning a project,
and explained a bit about architectural concepts.
Once she learned that the overall favorite subject
among the children was mathematics,
she utilized this knowledge
to have the students calculate
the square footage of their bedrooms,
and then walked them through the steps
required to properly plan for their imaginary bedroom project.
Included in the “planning” were the financial

restrictions of a budget and the vital need
for organization of their information.

Marisa was very impressed
by the technological advances
evident in the classroom,
and the children’s computer dexterity.
She discovered a newfound respect for the challenges
faced by today’s teachers, and we’re pretty sure
that somewhere in those classes …
the seed of a future interior designer was planted!