It’s no surprise that as our first graduating class passed the torch to the rising seniors, class of 2018, Lydia Randall, would be the front-runner to receive this “torch”. Lydia embodies the essence of a young designer here at BDS.

Her architecture teacher, Steve Gordon says, “Aside from being the perfect student, smart, inquisitive and hard-working, she is also incredibly thoughtful and supportive. She literally raises up everyone around her.”

At the end of her sophomore year at BDS, Lydia selected a pathway in Architecture. “I chose architecture because it felt like a natural fit to me. I was really attracted to being able to work with physical materials and large-scale projects. The projects we do are mainly ones with real-life applications or things we could potentially build.”

Fast forward to her senior year and the sky is the limit for this senior and soon-to-be a BDS graduate! With early acceptances into multiple colleges, Lydia only has eyes for architecture programs saying, “Now that I have pursued architecture in high school I really want to continue with it. The schools I am planning to, or already have applied to are: Carnegie Mellon University, RISD, Syracuse, Tulane and UPenn”, to name a few. She goes on to say, “I hope I can intern at an architecture firm by my freshman year. I don’t have any particular firm in mind, as long as I get a meaningful experience I will be happy anywhere.”

A last word from Lydia, “As hard as it may be at this time in your life, try your hardest to be 100% yourself. There is such community at BDS and no matter what your interests are or where you come from you’ll always find at least one person who you can share experiences with. Feel no pressure to choose a certain track. Only you know what is the best choice for yourself.”