Graphic Design Student to Serve as CADC’s Fall Commencement Marshal

Kacee Bridgman of West Union, South Carolina, has been selected as the student marshal for the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) at Auburn University’s Fall 2024 commencement ceremony, scheduled for December 14, 2024.

Bridgman will receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. During her time at Auburn, she was a member of Auburn’s student chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and was also active with The Circle, a student-run literary and visual arts magazine, and WEGL, the student-operated campus radio station.

“I flip-flopped majors for a long time before college,” Bridgman recalled of her decision to pursue Graphic Design (GDES). “I knew that I was a deeply creative person, and I concluded that if I did not have the opportunity to express that creativity in my everyday life, I would not be fulfilled in the future. I weighed many options, but in the end, I picked Graphic Design because of its important place in people’s lives.”

“My experience in the GDES program was nothing short of amazing,” Bridgman continued, looking back on her Auburn experience. “I felt pushed and challenged, but also supported and cared for. I genuinely feel every professor I had in the program taught me something valuable and that I became a better designer because of them.”

Reflecting on the program’s impact, Bridgman highlighted how the faculty helped shape her growth as a designer, both creatively and professionally. Among those who influenced her most was Assistant Professor Devon Ward.

“He taught me two semesters in a row very early in the program (Intro to Graphic Design and then Interactive Media), and not only did he teach me so much in those early days, but he also helped me grow my confidence a lot as a designer,” she shared. “He expects a lot out of his students, but the hard work makes you a better designer—100%.”

Ward remembers Bridgman as a thoughtful, driven student whose dedication and perseverance set her apart.

“Kacee is a very thoughtful, driven student who approaches each design project with enthusiasm and determination,” Ward noted. “Even after two years, her album cover design is still very memorable—not just for the final design—but for her rigorous process as well. She worked and reworked the design so many times that it is hard to keep count how many iterations she developed. She wasn’t satisfied until it was excellent. And it paid off because she received a national design award for it from Graphic Design USA. Kacee’s grit and resilience within design will serve her very well as she enters the professional sphere.”

Several student projects stand out in Bridgman’s mind as favorites, but one in particular helped her find her niche.

“In the packaging series project from Design 1, I did cookie boxes,” Bridgman recalled. “I think that is when I realized I really loved packaging and could maybe see it as what I wanted to focus on after school. I don’t typically do projects with that bright of a color palette, so it was a cool change.”

Now, as she nears graduation, Bridgman hopes to turn that niche into a career.

“My next steps are getting an agency job — hopefully something to do with packaging, branding or publication design,” she said of her future plans. “The program has prepared me not only with technical skills, but I also have a robust and varied portfolio because of my education here. Auburn exposed me to so many different aspects of the design industry and allowed me to really chase my passions in terms of the areas I’m interested in.”