Benedictine Mission Drove Students’ Success In Architecture

“It’s a proud moment for Benedictine Architecture. We celebrate two graduates bringing their talent to the service of the Church and the renewal of sacred architecture. Well done, Ravens!” said John Haigh, chair of the Architecture program at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.

Grace Hausladen and Luke Seymour, graduates of the program, were honored in the Catholic Art Institute’s inaugural Bernini Awards.

Grace won the Student – Emerging Architecture & Sacred Art Award for her proposed final resting place for Venerable Father Emil Kapaun. Luke received a Student Honorable Mention for his Cathedral and National Shrine to the Holy Family in Kansas City, Kansas. Both completed these projects to earn their M.Arch degrees at the Catholic University of America.

Both students immersed themselves deeply in the Benedictine College mission of community, faith and scholarship.

Community was the focus of the advice Grace Hausladen offered students in a CUA interview. “Spend time getting to know your studio mates; architecture is such a unique field of study in that you spend so much time with your fellow students, that fostering those friendships can be a unique part of the major,” she said.

Faith is essential, she said: “I loved my education at Benedictine College and found that having a Catholic architectural education is so rich and essential in my studies, so I wanted to continue to pursue my architectural studies at a university that was rooted in the Catholic faith.”

Scholarship includes the kind of internship opportunities Benedictine offers, along with programs such as its Florence campus. “It’s also important to take advantage of all the opportunities it presents, from studying abroad to internships to working with other disciplines because it will all help you to become a better architect,” said Hausladen.

Luke Seymour’s profile in Seton magazine described his own story of community, faith and scholarship. “Originally from Dallas, Texas, our family recently moved to Atchison, Kansas, to be closer to the college,” he said.

Community. In addition to majoring in Classical Architecture, Seymour competed in varsity track and field on and was a member of the Gregorian Fellows leadership program and president of the college’s Latin Mass Society.

Faith. Seymour said, “When I visited Benedictine at the beginning of my senior year, the choice was made clear. Benedictine College is unapologetically Catholic from the leadership on down, and you can tell the professors really care.”

Scholarship. Academically, Seymour made the President’s List or Dean’s List nearly every semester despite the demands of an intensive architecture program.

For her part, Hausladen added:

“Architecture was the perfect intersection of all my interests. It allows me to study so many fields from engineering and art to history, economics, theology and music, as well as continuing to push me to expand my horizons and learn new subjects, all while rooting myself in a meaningful tradition.”

The Architecture Program at Benedictine College offers a pre-professional Bachelor of Arts degree that forms the foundation for graduate study, licensure, and lifelong engagement with timeless expressions of design. The program says: “Rooted in the liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition, our program prepares students to re-create in the future by recovering the enduring lessons of the past.”

See Benedictine College Architecture program details, student work, and opportunities for prospective students here.

By Editorial Staff