Lydia Shaw Balances Architecture, Running, and Campus Involvement at Jefferson

Photo courtesy of Thomas Jefferson Athletics.

There’s some careers that sometimes just make me go “wow”. Doctors, astronauts, engineers, scientists, and architects are some of those. Not to discredit any single person in their own individual careers; everyone’s job and role is vital to me. But, there are times when you come across a young woman like Lydia Shaw and you can’t help but to be amazed by her laundry list of accomplishments at just 20 years old and what still is left ahead in her life.

It’s no surprise her intelligence is through the roof as the daughter of two doctors, one academic and one in dentistry. But, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t worked really hard to get where she is, because that unquestionably is not the case. As a high schooler, Shaw was the lone female tri-sport athlete for the Thomas Jefferson High Jaguars. Competing in basketball, cross-country, and track and field, her time in high school was much about athletics.

A three-time state qualifier in cross-country as well as a highly respected basketball player who did have a college future in the sport if she chose to, Shaw is also much more than a student-athlete. She’s a leader, innovator, creator, designer, and go-getter. She finished with over a 4.0 in her high school career on top of her work designing sets for plays, sewing costumes for her classmates performances, assisting her teachers in blueprint designs, and even setting up a community book exchange in her neighborhood.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Shaw.

When Lydia Shaw has her mind on something, she’s going to get the job done. There’s no doubt that she was meant to be a distance runner as the discipline and time commitment it takes from these athletes day after day is nothing short of extraordinary.

When complimenting her on her well roundedness as someone still so young, there was no doubt the compliment hit deep for her and she took pride in being a “Jill of All Trades”. However, like the old cliche indicates, she is working towards becoming a master of many. 

A master of finding her stride as a runner and avoiding the injury bug in a sport that seems to put virtually every runner out of action at some point as well as a soon to be master of building dream homes for her clients one day. Patience is unquestionably something she has, a necessary skill for logging high mileage and navigating architectural software to build a design that checks all the boxes. Considering the high stress of being a high level athlete as well as working in such a competitive field like architecture, it’s rare to find someone who would take nearly two hours out of a busy schedule to chat with a stranger in order to learn about her life.

Luckily, the interview was conducted during the summer months in a “downtime” if there is such a thing for a college athlete. This summer, her downtime is being spent in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia interning for Serenbe Designing + Planning while continuing her work through the summer packet Head Coach Dave Thomas helped prepare for the Thomas Jefferson University Rams program.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Shaw.

Heading into her third year of college, she already helped bring a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title back to Philadelphia despite running for a women’s team that featured just seven members in 2021. Though it was her second year at the school, it was her first cross-country season due to COVID-19 factoring into a cancelled season in 2020 in cross-country.

Since, she’s returned to competition and remains focused on helping the cross-country and track and field programs continue excellence while also welcoming increased numbers in the coming years. Luckily for her, she was staying for a fifth-year of college anyway because of architecture being a five-year program. This will allow her to compete in a fifth season of cross-country and track and field before her time at Jefferson comes to a close.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Shaw.

Some may be wondering, how did she end up at Jefferson anyway? A valid question, the answer is she applied to ten schools overall. Her decision was one not based on athletics, but once she inquired and figured out she could run for the Rams while also studying for an accredited degree that not many institutions offer, she had to make a visit to see if the school was all she saw it to be online.

Thankfully, it was all she had hoped for and more. Her coursework allows her to work alongside students from various different disciplines, including fashion merchandising, interior design, and pre-medicine to complete a collection of projects. With high level sports continuing and her itch to learn being fulfilled, there’s no question she’s in the right place for her for the college years.

What lies ahead exactly remains a mystery, but her curiosity and motivation to feed her brain will continue to take her far. This Thomas Jefferson Jaguar turned Thomas Jefferson Ram continues a championship pedigree in and out of athletics.

Best of luck as you continue your time at Jefferson, Lydia! Thank you for the opportunity to share your story 🏃🏼‍♀️

Photo courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University Athletics.