Theodora Bratu, a senior graphic design major, has had anything but a conventional educational experience—and she plans on keeping it that way.
Bratu originally planned on committing to Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen, Scotland, but decided to attend Taylor in May 2022 “on a whim” after hearing about how strong its art department was.
As a child of parents who worked with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) missions, Bratu spent her childhood in various locations around the globe. Born in Bucharest, Romania, she spent the next few years moving between China, Hungary and Romania.
Bratu attended the International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) as a first grader and eventually came back to Budapest for her final three years in high school, where her parents are currently based.
When she arrived at Taylor, Bratu was an illustration major. She recalled taking her first class, two-dimensional design, with Hannah Richardson, an assistant professor of art education & pre-art therapy.
As one of the foundational classes in Taylor’s Art Department, it focused on teaching the formal properties of art and rules of design and how to compose images through cropping, placement, color selection and organization, Richardson said.
From the beginning, Richardson saw an eagerness in Bratu to learn.
“Theo's not going to be the first person to speak up if you have a good class of people and you ask a question,” Richardson said. “But Theo is going to be the one who comes and asks a question later to try to understand it for herself.”
Bratu loved two-dimensional design, saying it helped open her eyes to seeing lines and colors through a different lens.
Later on, Bratu decided to switch her major to graphic design in an effort to be more hirable after graduating. She anticipated her course content being almost the same but was surprised.
“I grew to love it—it’s a blessing,” she said. “And now, I don't think I could ever see myself as an illustrator.”
Layout and Prepress, a class notorious for garnering criticism due to its reputation for teaching a lot of “boring information,” ended up being Bratu’s favorite class.
It explored magazine, newspaper and book layouts, as well as micro aspects like text arrangement, pixel counting and the relationship between colors and printing. Bratu produced a book sleeve and a magazine in the class.
“It sounds so boring, but I loved the nitty-gritty part of it,” Bratu said. “I think I was really proud of everything in that class.”
Bratu considered switching to finance when she was weighing the time and job benefits of her major. She cited long hours spent working on projects that would sometimes get shut down by a professor who had a different concept in mind.
Now, Bratu considers herself a “tough cookie,” having been through countless critiques that have taught her how to handle rejection in a productive way.
“Growth is really important to me,” she said.
In her sophomore year, Bratu spent the spring 2024 semester studying abroad at Gordon College in Orvieto, Italy. During her time there, she lived and took classes in a convent.
Once a week, students would give “intros” about who they were on a more personal level. Bratu found it fascinating learning about others who were similarly minded but came from many different backgrounds.
“You learned that you never know what a person has gone through,” Bratu said. “I think it's just taught me, relationally, how to be a bit different with people.”
As part of the semester, Bratu took a three-day silent pilgrimage, led by an ex-nun. Every day, she and her fellow students hiked approximately 20 miles in the more rural parts of Italy
“While being in it, I hated every minute, because I'm a yapper,” Bratu said. “But afterwards, I was like, ‘Wait, that was probably the best experience of my life.’”
Bratu created “Reflections of Light,” an art project inspired by the vast amount of lakes she saw while being on the pilgrimage and how that connected with her vision of the Kingdom of God.
While being at Taylor, Bratu has found herself in various leadership positions, from being a personal assistant, to tutoring the two-dimensional design class. This has influenced her to focus more on working with people in less of a transactional, client-oriented manner and more on a relational level.
Bratu has credited Jonathan Bouw, department co-chair and professor of art, who served as her adviser, with being her primary inspiration to become a professor of design.
“I love the grind of corporate design—and maybe I'll do that,” Bratu said. “But I think my calling is to educate at a higher level.”
On the wall of her room in Chiu Hall, she owns a poster with the words, “Love is the law.”
Bratu has lived by that truth, saying that she believes giving grace to others is vital. Richardson’s door on the first floor of Metcalf is often open, and she can always tell when Bratu is there because of her distinct laughter.
“She is very confident in who she is, and that actually helps other people to also recognize how God has made them to be,” Richardson said.
Bratu will be attending graduate school at either the Florence International Design Institute or the International Institute of Design as part of a one-year program in Italy. She is currently getting her TESOL certificate and plans to teach English while there.
