Date: Aug 25, 2011

NBC's "Today" Show Puts the Spotlight on Hofstra

Two Freshmen Featured in Segment on Fashionable and Functional Dorm Décor

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY …  Two incoming Hofstra freshmen faced off in a dorm decorating contest sponsored by the Today show that is scheduled to air next week.  The students, Miesha Dans, 17, of Merrick, and Lucy Nieves, 18, of Westbury, were paired with interior designers and given a budget of $300 to decorate two single rooms in the Colonial Square residential complex on the North Campus.

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Miesha was partnered with decorator and Better Homes & Gardens contributing editor Elaine Griffin, and Lucy worked with Miami-based designer, makeover expert and TV personality Jeff Wade during the August 1 taping. Cameras followed the girls and designers to area retail outlets to record their shopping spree. Woman’s Day magazine editor-in-chief Elizabeth Mayhew arrived at the end of the day to decide which team had done a better job of decorating and maximizing the functionality of each space. The Today show’s consumer reporter, Janice Lieberman, was also on hand all day to follow the action.

The results of the competition were spectacular. The rooms, which initially contained only a bed, a dresser and desk, by evening had been transformed to reflect each girl’s sense of fashion and to complement the belongings from home that she brought with her. As with decorating the residence halls in general, painting, wallpaper, nails and tacks were not permitted on the walls – all wall accessories were removable.

Hofstra junior Rachel Lutz, an intern at the Today show this summer, suggested Hofstra as the site for this segment to the producers. She also worked all day at the taping.

To see how Miesha and Elaine and Lucy and Jeff shopped for and decorated the rooms and to find out whose room was judged the winner by Elizabeth Mayhew, visit:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/44271327#44271327

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from 140 undergraduate and 150 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied health services, honors, as well as a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

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Related Link: See the Final Designs - Watch the Today Show Segment!