Senior Story
Bailey McGrath ’20 and Victoria Bartholomew ’20 Countdown to Graduation

Bailey McGrath and Victoria Bartholomew
When Bailey McGrath and Victoria Bartholomew met as assigned roommates for NYSID’s summer Pre-college program, they had no idea that five years later, they’d share an apartment and be just months away from earning their BFA degrees in Interior Design. What they did know was that their passion for interior design went deeper than a casual interest. According to Victoria, “Bailey and I were probably the only two rising high school seniors attending the program who knew without a doubt that we were going to pursue a BFA in Interior Design, it was just a question of where.”
Making the NYSID Choice
For Victoria (Instagram: @Vic.Bartholomew), choosing NYSID meant answering the question of whether a smaller, focused college was the right place for her. Upon completion of the precollege program, she knew NYSID was the place, and the two things she questioned early on have turned into her two favorite things about the school. “I love that the school is focused with faculty that are actively working in the interior design industry, and yet accessible. There’s no “professor hierarchy” here where you can’t talk to the main professor.
The difference of NYSID’s faculty approach also became apparent to Victoria when sharing her portfolio with a group of fellow interns from other design schools. “When two students from the same school showed me their portfolios, all the projects looked somewhat similar, so I asked if it had been an ongoing group project. I was genuinely surprised when they said “No.” The professor must have directed so much in terms of what they wanted to see that the students simply executed on that, without much self-expression encouraged. That doesn’t happen at NYSID. The faculty truly know the students and they push us to tap into our instincts, backgrounds and preferences for our design work. Their aim is for our work to be near professional level. As a result, our portfolios are distinct and have tremendous life to them.”
For Bailey (Instagram: @BaileyMcGrath317), pursuing her interior design dreams at NYSID was understanding that it’s not the typical undergraduate experience many high school students seek. “The campus is New York City and my classes are a mix of recent grads as well as students with a range of career experiences. But I go visit my high school friends at other schools, have a good time and then can’t wait to get back to New York City and my classes. I’m exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing.”
“Faculty” and “strength of curriculum” are also what Bailey points to as key differentiators of the NYSID experience. “Right from the start, you appreciate that the faculty are real people with incredible experience who speak to you like colleagues. They care about the students and their interests. The curriculum is designed to really balance interior design and architectural knowledge including things like codes, billing and, CAD, in a way that exposes you to key things you’ll need to be a successful designer.”
New Year, New Decisions
Now embarking on their senior year, the talk is about deciding on a senior thesis topic, and excitement about life after NYSID.
Victoria came to NYSID with a focus on residential design, but her first internship at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in commercial design radically shifted that focus. “The need for a simple, straightforward approach to take on the complexities of hospitality (hotels and restaurants) design is exiting and highly appealing to me.” Her five-year goal? To be invited back to speak at NYSID. “I have loved all the speakers I listened to as a student and it would be rewarding to give back to the school. I know I’ve got the education and experience to do something amazing after graduation!”
Bailey starts her senior year with extreme confidence gathered from her summer internship with Daniel Romualdez as well as having had her design selected and installed at the prestigious Nantucket by Design. “My first installation was an incredible moment in my life. I’ll never forget the first time I saw all that conceptualizing, planning, and reworking of my designs finally realized in a tangible way within a space. I’m very grateful for the honor and experience.”
NYSID IN 3 WORDS
BAILEY: Informed, Professional, Community
VICTORIA: Passion, Friendly, Creative
Do you know a high school student interested in interior design? Tell them about NYSID’s summer pre-college program!
David Sprouls, president of the New York School of Interior Design, welcomes readers to the Summer 2025 issue of Atelier.
Beth Diana Smith ’15 (AAS), CEO and principal of Beth Diana Smith Interior Design, came to NYSID after a decade-long career in corporate finance. Part of a Victorian home renovation in Montclair, NJ, this ASID award-winning kitchen by Smith balances beauty and function with custom storage, layered design, and workspace tailored for a dedicated baker.
Alum Holly Hayden Taylor ’09 (BFA), CID, NCIDQ, executive design director of Jeremiah Brent Design, and NYSID faculty member, on cultivating the culture of positivity that unlocks creativity .
Mona Nahm ’20 (MFA1) didn’t set out to become a designer of affordable housing. Nonetheless, she finds herself at the vanguard of a movement to alleviate the housing crisis one beautiful, healthy, and sustainable building at a time. She spearheaded Y.A. Studio’s commitment to follow the Living Building Challenge’s Core Green Building Certification standards for 4200 Geary, a new 98-unit senior affordable housing project in San Francisco’s Richmond District, serving a population that includes formerly unhoused seniors.
An overview of distance learning at NYSID with student perspectives from Dorothy Hill, an AAS distance-learning student who was studying from Amsterdam, Netherlands; Nicole Hand ’25, a BFA distance-learning student who was studying from Denver, Colorado; and BFA distance-learning student Haruko Utsuki (BFA) , who is based in Toronto, Canada, and took a semester abroad in Florence, Italy.
The New York School of Interior Design’s Archive becomes the repository for the history of interior design education, examination, and the profession, as well as a key resource for scholars.
The New York School of Interior Design’s curricula and offerings are constantly evolving, pushing the standards of design education further. Hear about NYSID’s exciting new hires, projects, and directions here.
Stephen Chrisman is a partner at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, a firm renowned for traditional and classical architecture, founded by Mark Ferguson and Oscar Shamamian in 1988. Working closely with Principal Andrew Oyen, Chrisman helped establish the Ferguson & Shamamian Travel Award for Cultural Discovery at NYSID, an annual contest that challenges students to propose a course of study in a foreign country for the chance to win a $5,000 travel-study stipend, followed by a paid internship at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects.
Emerson Kraus ’24 (BFA) designed Art of Wellness, a biophilic wellness center in San Antonio that blends historic and modern design to support holistic healing through sensory, spatial, and sustainable elements.
Addison Hansen ’24 (BFA) designed Liminal Spaces, a museum concept at NYC’s Pier 57 where visitors explore the idea of home through memory, sensation, and dreams across immersive, interactive exhibits.
Kallee La Rosa’s ‘24 (MFA1) Mirina transforms Miami’s Marine Stadium into a luxurious and sustainable micro-living community for remote workers, blending bold design, compact comfort, and shared live/work spaces.
Afsin Zehra Musa’s ‘24 (MFA2) Threaded Renaissance reimagines the mall as a hub for sustainable fashion, blending eco-conscious design, community, and innovation—all within a compact, connectivity-driven space.
Inspired by The White Lotus, Francine Mariano’s project transforms a classical hotel into a journey from light to shadow—welcoming at first glance, but layered with mystery and drama.
Krishna Nidhi Babu’s ‘24 (MPSS) “Cohousing,” located in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, is a residential community rooted in biophilic design, inspired by patterns and shapes found in nature.
David Sprouls, president of the New York School of Interior Design, welcomes readers to the Summer 2024 issue of Atelier.
NYSID alumna Nandar Godoy-Dinneen ’11 (MPSS)) designed this 700 sq. ft. retreat outside the city of Quito, Ecuador. The client asked for a tiny house that contained a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, office, and yoga space.
NYSID alumnus Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA) became creative director of the prestigious interior design firm Anthony Baratta, Inc., at the age of 24. He has been named a House Beautiful Next Wave Designer, and his first house’s interior, which he designed, was featured in The New York Times, Country Living Magazine, and Connecticut Cottage and Gardens. NYSID honored him with its Rising Star Award at Gala 2024.
Mackenzie Carr began as NYSID’s first director of DEIB in the summer of 2023. He views his work as “building culture,” a practice that requires patience, empathy, and strategic thinking. As he approaches his first-year anniversary at NYSID, we chat with him about what drew him to DEIB work, his methods, and the emerging priorities for NYSID.
NYSID alumna and instructor Michelle Jacobson ’18 (MPSS) says designers drive the development of more sustainable products, so knowing what questions to ask about materials can have a huge impact on the health of clients and what gets manufactured.
The New York School of Interior Design’s curricula and offerings are constantly evolving, pushing the standards of design education further. Hear about NYSID’s exciting new hires, projects, and directions here.
“Our children are well taken care of. I wanted to share some of our resources with other people who might have less. When Anne and I were young, neither of us could afford to travel to far-flung places. Later in our lives, Anne and I visited India, China, Burma, Vietnam, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and many parts of Latin America. Morocco was a highlight of our life. Exploring these roads less traveled ripped me out of my own experience and deepened and broadened my understanding of the world. This kind of educational experience, through a school like NYSID, seemed to be the greatest gift we could give.”
Vincenza Lampon ’23 (BFA) resolved to use her thesis to radically rethink the way shelter design serves the unhoused. She collected empirical data, learning that “shelters rarely have design practices built into them.”
As Motomu “Lucia” Sakakibara ’23 (BFA) embarked on her thesis research, she envisioned a destination where people in metropolitan areas could go for decompression and self-reflection. Her models were Storm King, Dia Beacon, and Grace Farms, non-profit cultural organizations that brought her quietude and inspiration when she needed space from the city. For her cultural organization’s location, she chose a 1930s building, originally a stable, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, on a plot of land ringed by woods.
Chairman’s Award winner Charlotte Doody '23 (MFA1) researched many spas and wellness centers in preparation for her thesis. Her inquiry resulted in this revelation: “In modern day America, taking care of one’s health has become a sacred practice—a pilgrimage towards balance and well-being.” So she designed Aether Wellness Center around the idea that, “health is a new religion.”
For her thesis, Nivedhitha Ravi '23 (MFA2) was determined to “translate the needs of seniors into spatial solutions” in an innovative community for elders. Her intended client was the National Council on Aging. She researched the specific needs of current New York City seniors, because context and culture make design stronger. She found that, “Seniors need to be able to move around, but existing nursing homes restrict movement in an effort to reduce falls.”
A real company and brand inspired Stefano Falez ‘23 (MPSS). KEEL.LABS is a North Carolina-based start-up driven by the exploration of new resources from the ocean to create fabrics with low carbon footprints.
“The intent was for the design to be able to minimize light trespass (from inside to outside and outside to inside) without compromising the safety of a student campus,” Nirali Prajapati ‘23 (MPSL) says. “This translated into Dark Sky-friendly lighting, flexibility for personalization in private units, and sustainability and durability becoming the basis for the lighting design approach.”
David Sprouls, president of the New York School of Interior Design, welcomes readers to the Summer 2023 issue of Atelier.
The New York School of Interior Design’s one-year, post-professional Master of Professional Studies in Lighting Design (MPSL) has a 100 percent employment rate for graduates within 6 months of the program’s completion, and has for years…. MPSL Program Director Shaun Fillion, LC, CLCP, Educator IALD, as well as alumni Estefania Diaz ’15 (MPSL) / ’16 (MPSS), Lighting Designer at Ventresca Lighting Designers; Iliana Filotheidi ’19 (MPSL), Senior Lighting Designer at HLB Lighting Design; and Diogo Coelho ’18 (MPSL), Lighting Product Manager at Amerlux, share their insights.
NYSID alum Robert Kaner ’02 (AAS) designed this interior for a couple who had multiple residences and would be spending only part of their time in New York.