NIC design students earn regional awards at Spokane gala

North Idaho College’s graphic and web design students walked away from Spokane with more than trophies. Sarah Hoare of Coeur d’Alene earned a gold Addy for “Next Level - Student Portfolio Website,” a project that doubles as a job-ready showcase, while Victoria Rapier of Priest River picked up silvers for a Bloomsday Teen Board illustration and the race’s 50th anniversary, plus a lilac for “Untouristed Travel.”

The April 18 awards gala gave NIC another public reminder that its design students are competing far beyond campus. The Spokane American Advertising Awards are the first tier of a three-step national competition, and the American Advertising Federation says the program draws more than 25,000 entries each year. That puts Hoare, Rapier and their classmates in the same field as students from larger schools and working creatives across the Inland Northwest.

The list of honored projects reads like a preview of the kinds of jobs Kootenai County employers need filled. Ryan Lamb of Coeur d’Alene won lilac awards for “Atlantic Eye Physicians” stationery and the Inlander newspaper’s Summer Camps 2026 cover. Aurora Bacowsky of Post Falls earned a lilac for “Print is Persuasive” and had work chosen for Spokane Fall Folk Festival marketing materials. Anna Foster of Coeur d’Alene was recognized for “Tigris Kombucha,” Emma Inwood of Hayden for “Art is Everything,” and Morgan Fude of Worley for “Steve Carell - The Coolest.”

The work also stretched into regional nonprofit and event marketing. Danny Schmitz of Post Falls won first place in the Print Industry of America’s contest with “Print Connects Us,” and his marketing material was chosen for the Spokane Scottish Highland Games in August. Elspeth Gibson of Kellogg won the Festival at Sandpoint contest and took second place in the PIA competition. Jeff Shark of Hayden placed third in the PIA contest, while Esther Ankeny of Rathdrum, Schmitz and Fude were selected for a yearly planner produced by Minute Press. Emily Gankema of Coeur d’Alene earned the Inlander’s 2026 Summer Camp insert cover spot.

The pattern is one NIC has built for years. Idaho’s Division of Career Technical Education says the program’s unofficial motto is “Different years, different students, same results,” and notes that NIC students won Best of Show in 2025, the fifth time an NIC student claimed the top prize. The same program swept the Addys in 2023 and earned a Cobalt Award for web design in 2024.

Program coordinator Philippe Valle has spent more than two decades shaping that pipeline, taking over in 2002 when enrollment stood at just four students. Today, the program functions like a two-year design agency, turning classroom work into portfolios, campaigns and competition pieces that local businesses, nonprofits and media outlets can use. For Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum and the rest of Kootenai County, the Spokane wins show NIC is not only teaching design, but supplying the creative talent the region needs.