Lauren Ostrzyzek

Hometown:

Hope, NJ

What I was doing before RWU: 

I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture and Design in 2019 from Mercyhurst University, located in Erie, PA. After graduating, I took a year off in order to visit graduate programs, apply to schools, and just mentally take a break from the stress that came from school. I was accepted into Roger Williams’ Preservation Practice program and I later asked if I could pursue the Master of Architecture program as well. 

My future plans:

After graduation, I definitely want to stay in New England and explore the adaptive reuse field within architecture. I feel like there is a great amount of potential to take historic preservation to a brand new level that combines adaptive reuse and sustainable design and it’s something that I want to help develop. I also really want to travel Europe and other continents in order to see first hand how other cultures care for their history in order to influence and inspire architects and preservationists in the US to take on similar values.  

My favorite parts of my student experience at RWU: 

I genuinely enjoy the community of people that you can find not just in the Cummings School of Architecture, but on the whole campus. It’s wonderful to be a part of a group of people that care so much about the proper education of younger generations and have peers that care about one another and make the learning environment fun. I feel like I have a family here at Roger Williams.  

Best advice for students planning to go to graduate school: 

I always recommend taking a year off before going to graduate school in order to mentally regroup, find a job within your chosen field and just work for a while, travel places you didn’t have time to before, etc. Graduate school isn’t going anywhere and I believe that if you are really passionate about your field, you won’t have any doubts about going back into academia after a well deserved break. The four years of undergraduate is taxing for anyone and graduate school is even more challenging so there is never any shame in taking a break before diving right back in.  

Favorite things to do in the area: 

One of my favorite things to do is going for walks and exploring Bristol to find new stores and quiet public places to read or sketch in order to just take a break away from the pressure that comes from school. Also, Jules Ice Cream is amazing and something everyone has to try.