Alumni and Hiring Firms
We are very pleased to announce these firms have hired graduates of our Architecture Program. In addition, many more firms have taken our students under their wing and provided internship opportunities. Feel free to click on any architecture firm to learn more about them.
Professional Testimonies
“Based on my twenty years of licensed practice and exposure to the academic pedagogy of my undergraduate studies at Pratt Institute and graduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, I can say without question that the classical methodology of teaching architecture is the best way to prepare college students for understanding and contributing to the built environment. Studies of the classical masters such as Vitruvius and Palladio and the subsequent in-depth analysis of classical structures through hand-drawing and painting is what formed the great masters of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including the great masters of the Modern Movement le Corbusier, Van der Rohe, and Kahn among others. I would fully support and encourage you and your esteemed colleagues to continue along this path for the sake of our built environment and the edification of your program’s students.”
— William Heyer
Architect
“At Historical Concepts, we hire architects whose education is rooted in classical curricula. We’re excited to see Benedictine College’s architecture program thriving, as it aligns closely with our precedent-based design process. The students from Benedictine consistently bring exceptional talent, enthusiasm, and a strong foundation that allows them to contribute meaningfully to our projects from the very start.”
— Todd Strickland
Managing Principal, Historical Concepts
Student Testimonies
“The Benedictine architecture program is one rooted deeply in tradition and helped shape me into a lifelong student of the art. The professors truly cared about each of us and wanted us to reach our highest potential, both as designers and as people. The time I spent with my classmates created a culture unlike any other major. We became like a family—loving each other, argued with each other, and showing up every day ready to grow. We learned from one another, leaned on each other, and pushed each other to be better. It was messy at times, but it was real—and it’s something I’ll always carry with me.”
— Ben Shonka
Class of 2025
Graduate Student at the University of Notre Dame
“I entered the Architecture Department feeling out of my depth, both in purpose and skill. With little sense of my career’s direction and meaning, I brought with me a handful of cartoons in my notebook as my “previous artistic experience”. The Architecture Department molded my basic talents into fully-fledged skills in designing, sketching, watercolor, and observation, pushing my artistic capabilities to heights I’d have thought impossible in high school. However, each project wasn’t just graded for how it looked – though that certainly was a factor! – each proposed design was required to be imbued with a message, a reason, to explain the incredible effort of putting pen to paper. After graduating from Benedictine’s Architecture Department, these skills, specifically, my learned abilities in watercolor, won me my dream job in St. Louis, working close to my home and family, on high-end residential houses!”
— Jon Patrick Boulanger
Class of 2024
Mitchell Wall Architecture & Design
“Benedictine College’s architecture program is an outstanding program that has prepared me tremendously for the competitive field. Its deep roots in Classical Architecture taught me proportion, beauty, design, and the history of architecture. In studio, we worked on projects that taught us both design principles and problem-solving skills. More importantly, it taught me that architecture is not just about building structures, it’s a vocation dedicated to creating beautiful spaces and lasting beauty. I left with a strong portfolio and the confidence to step into the profession ready to contribute with purpose.”
— John Wilborn
Class of 2023
Norman Davenport Askins, P.C.
“I really believe that my education at Benedictine was top tier. Learning to draw and watercolor was definitely a challenge for someone with my more math-oriented background, but thankfully, John Haigh and some of the other visiting professors we had on staff at the time were fantastic educators with the ability to teach people from all different backgrounds incredibly well. Architecture really is the perfect synthesis of the arts and stem, and having a Catholic Beaux-Arts training like the one offered at Benedictine is an incredibly rare opportunity. In a world dominated by technology where truth, goodness, and beauty are often seen as entirely subjective, Benedictine did a wonderful job forming me and my classmates and preparing us to help restore a sense of objective beauty to others in both our further education and the workforce.”
— Luke Seymour
Class of 2023
Civium Architects