Interior design student Joanna Paull is the recipient of the IIDA Northern California Chapter's 2007–08 Student Scholarship. The $7,500 scholarship was awarded to the student who best responded to the theme "cultural authenticity," a topic chosen by current IIDA Chapter Honor Award recipient Steven McCollom of Gary Lee Partners. The competition is open to all final-year students who are enrolled in Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)-approved interior design programs.

Titled Build It Green, Joanna's entry was a multipurpose project located at California and Van Ness streets. It featured offices, classrooms, a library, café, lecture hall, and housing. The project was originally a CCA studio assignment.

Judge Steven McCollom explained why he selected Joanna, saying not only that the presentation itself was "well executed" and "visually appealing," but also that "the jury got the distinct impression that the designer inherently understood the issue of homelessness and its impact on society—and created a design solution that served the homeless population, as well as the surrounding neighborhood and the city of San Francisco."

Joanna would like to stay in the Bay Area after graduating and join a firm that "fosters the enrichment of individuals, site, and community—whether that is office design, retail, civic projects, or larger housing projects."