WKU News

Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising student Tylia Standard came to WKU from Columbus, Ohio, to pursue a career designing residential spaces, and in the process, she designed a home on the Hill with a space to create and develop lasting connections.

That design started with choosing a degree program that allowed her to explore and build her upon her creativity. 

“I wanted a career field where I could create a lot, be super artistic, but still be very successful,” Standard explained also describing her ability to imagine designs and give advice on functionality for the space with each building that she enters. 

Standard practices her skills on personal projects, such as with redesigning her uncle’s home. “My interior design background really helps because I now know the functionality (with designing spaces). I know how it go in order to make it become the best project it can be,” Standard said discussing the designs. 

At Western Kentucky University, Standard started shaping her community by joining the ISEC Academy upon entering her first year and now in leadership roles in Blaq Art Nouveau and the Epsilon Zeta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

“I have always wanted to have a community that I can call home - a community that is large and welcoming - people that I can always rely on,” Standard said. “I want to be able to create a community for my future.”

Blaq Art Nouveau, an art expression organization, gave Standard her first opportunity to speak on stage in an auditorium venue, but her desire to share spoken word existed well beforehand. 

“I went through a lot of different things in my life, and writing was my best outlet. I noticed that I was good at it.” 

Standard writes about several different topics such as womanhood, femininity, Black excellence, and her different experiences. She maintains variety in her writing as well, extending to topics of cooking and any subject area that makes her feel happy. 

Her joy for artistic expression and ability to lead placed her in the role of president in the Blaq Art Nouveau organization at WKU. She said, “I knew how far we could go. I felt like I could push us even further.” In the role, the organization has hosted events, been involved in events, and participated in networking opportunities.  

“WKU empowered me to do so many things that I never even thought of, offered me so many opportunities that I did not even know were opportunities that I could take and flourish in,” Standard said.

“What shaped my story is the people. It’s really is a family,” Standard explained. 

Joining Alpha Kappa Alpha in fall 2023, Standard finally added sisters to her family - something she did not have as an only child. 

“When I met these women they were so welcoming and loving, it was like having a bunch of sisters that I never had before,” Standard said. She is the vice president and Ivy Leaf reporter for her chapter.

Standard shared how important not only the sisterhood is, but how important service in her sorority is to her.  “We offer service to all mankind. We do everything. When it comes to community service, we want to be the right hand that people need in our communities, in our cities, in our schools, in every aspect.”

From studying interior design to joining organizations, Standard continues to mold her WKU experience into one that fits her dreams, and turns out, aligns with her mother’s intuition. 

She expressed, “I chose WKU because it wasn’t too big - small enough that I could have close connections with people, and it was my mom’s intuition that it was going to be the perfect school for me.”

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Learn more about a degree in Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising at WKU:  https://www.wku.edu/ahs/interiordesign/index.php