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From Dreams to Realities: An Alumna Success Story
by Valerie Lippe P’25 P’28
At 5:30 a.m., when most people are hitting the snooze button to indulge in some extra sleep, Lori Shaeffer ‘15, is already at work. Rising at 3 a.m. is how she beats the rush-hour traffic during her morning commute from the Hanover area to Washington D.C., where she works for the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Planning, Design and Construction. It’s a sacrifice she is willing to make for a job she loves.
Since she was in middle school at St. Vincent de Paul School in Hanover, Lori has had a strong interest in the field of architecture. Riding the bus to and from school, she was enthralled by the historic, German-style buildings in downtown Hanover. She would come home and draw them from memory, capturing every detail.
Since then, Lori has demonstrated an uncanny ability to set her sights on a goal and achieve it. She recalls that her late grandfather subscribed to the Smithsonian Magazine and would always save her the latest issue. As she leafed through it during her visits, he would tell her that the researchers and other professionals who worked for the Smithsonian were “among the smartest people in the world, some of the best and brightest.” Undaunted, she would reply, “Oh yeah? Well, one day, I’m going to work there.”
Lori’s path to the Smithsonian was forged by similar experiences of goal setting and achievement. When she was in middle school, she knew she wanted to go to Delone Catholic. She applied for a scholarship from the John Gastley Scholarship Foundation. Founded by Delone Catholic alumni in 2009 and named in honor of former DCHS head football coach and economics teacher, John E. Gastley ’59, the Foundation selects one recipient each year from among the eighth-grade students of the Adams deanery schools to receive a merit-based, four-year scholarship to Delone Catholic. Recipients of the Gastley Scholarship must demonstrate not only academic success but also leadership qualities and a history of community service.
Lori fit the profile the Foundation was seeking for this highly competitive scholarship. Not only did she excel academically, but she also enjoyed helping others. By the time she was in middle school, she had accumulated an impressive number of hours of community service. When she was awarded a Gastley scholarship in 2011, she was the third recipient and the first female to be so honored.
Lori speaks very positively about her time at Delone Catholic. “It is a safe and great environment to be in. It’s like a family,” she says. “I think that’s why so many of our alums are so successful. No matter where you go, you kind of take Delone with you, and you share it.”
Entering Delone Catholic with a strong interest in design, engineering, and construction, Lori was happy to find courses in drafting and tech-ed. Her enjoyment of these classes, coupled with her achievement-oriented nature, strengthened her desire to make architecture a career. “I do like to challenge myself,” she admits, “and architecture is a pretty intensive career choice.”
When her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Jessica Reed, a graduate of Marywood University, suggested that Marywood might be a good fit for her, Lori looked into its programs and found that the University offered an undergraduate degree in architecture as well as an intensive, two-week summer architecture program for high school students. After participating in the summer program, she decided Marywood was the right college. “I fell in love with architecture even more, and I fell in love with the campus,” she says.
Once enrolled in the five-year undergraduate architecture program at Marywood, Lori began looking for paid internships, necessary for her to obtain her license as an architect. She typically had two to three internships each year. One such internship was drafting architectural drawings for a local welding company. She describes the work as, “crafting shop drawings for fabrication, taking construction drawings and detailing out the miscellaneous metal components.” The specific nature of the work was new to her, and
Lori admits, “It was a learning curve, I’ll be honest.” However, she intentionally sought out challenging internships to supplement her classroom experience at Marywood, where she learned drafting and software skills. “The goal for my internships was to take a more technical route. That way, when I did get into a firm, I could design something and fully understand it.”
The Smithsonian was still on her mind, however, and, during her last two summers as an undergraduate, she was able to find summer internships in the Smithsonian’s Office of Planning, Design, and Construction. Her internship in the Planning Department, upon graduation from college, turned into a full-time position.
What Lori enjoys most about her job is the sheer variety of the work. Her office partners with the Smithsonian museums and several other Smithsonian units, from pre-project planning all the way through the finalization of the project. Projects may be small-scale, such as the design and installation of new exhibits, or large-scale, such as the creation of a new building. Her current projects include the planning, design, and eventual construction of two new Smithsonian museums, the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Both of these projects are currently in the site-selection phase, with 26 potential sites having been identified. “And then I will be working my way through design and into opening,” she explains. “What this entails, is the building itself, the exhibits, the grounds, and planning – looking at the facilities to house the collections.”
As might be expected, a large team is necessary to complete these types of projects. The core 15-person team from the Smithsonian is composed of planners, architects, landscape architects, and museum leadership. As the project develops, select architectural firms are brought on board to assist them. “The total team may include as many as 500 people between all the different outreach sessions we’ve done,” she says. On this project, she explains, “My job is to stretch the project limits and see what we can do within budget, what is feasible, what makes the most sense. Having several options, I then present them to Smithsonian leadership.”
On other projects, her responsibilities may differ. “I’ve done anything and everything at the Smithsonian, from designing hardware for an artifact we found while trenching at the National Zoo all the way up to 40-year phased campus plans,” she states.
Blurring the lines between the offices, she is sometimes involved in the construction side, currently working on the second phase of the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum.
I’m a firm believer that hard work builds character.
Reflecting on those values that have helped her succeed thus far, she says, “I’m a firm believer that hard work builds character.” She credits the role models provided by the Delone Catholic community, the dedicated staff, and her fellow students, with instilling in her this and other positive values.
Having experienced the power of positive role models and having consciously tried to become one as a Gastley Scholarship recipient, she has now come full circle, helping to bring positive role models into the Delone Catholic community as a member of the Board of Directors of the John Gastley Scholarship Foundation. Recognizing all that the Gastley Scholarship did for her, Lori said that she always wanted to give back. In 2020, after she had returned to the area, she started attending the Foundation’s monthly meetings, and by September 2021 she was nominated for a seat on the Board. She chairs one committee and participates in several others.
Working year-round with Rick Little ‘77 and Tim Shea ‘77, Lori assists with the selection of each year’s scholarship recipient. As of 2024, there have been 16 Gastley Scholarship recipients, many of whom have already gone on to successful careers. Former recipients include engineers and architects as well as teachers, a classically-trained opera singer, and a football coach. Leadership, positive peer pressure, and the spirit of giving back are the three pillars that guide their selection of a candidate. “We look for wellrounded individuals who have a passion for helping the community, have a strong work ethic and are excited to go to Delone,” she explains.
“I’m very fortunate to love what I do,” Lori admits. “I love my career, and I love what I do for the Gastley Scholarship Foundation.” As she contemplates the future direction of her career, she notes, “I think it would take something extremely special to pull me away from the Smithsonian. I don’t think I’m going to find this level of variety anywhere else.” Is it likely, then, that she will dedicate her career to the Smithsonian? “I believe so,” she states.