Former lacrosse player, interior design graduate combines skillsets for Naval Academy project

In the time since earning her degree in interior design and completing four years as a midfielder and defender for the Lady Flames Women’s Lacrosse team, Maggie (Anderson) Bickhart (’22) has been able to draw from both experiences at Liberty University to design a state-of-the-art lacrosse facility for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Only one month after getting hired at a commercial architectural firm, Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects, Bickhart was approached by one of the senior architects about helping with a pitch for a new lacrosse facility, knowing that her athletic experience would help inform what the space could include. The pitch was successful, and Bickhart has since made routine visits to the Naval Academy to speak with the athletic director and coaches to design the space that she described as having “everything any lacrosse player could ever dream of.”

“It’s been so cool to be on both sides of the job,” Bickhart said. “Coming at it from an interior design perspective, I’ve been thinking about the layout and how the athletes will move throughout the day — where they will eat, lift, study, and rest — and also how to make it look visually appealing. Also, having been on the other side as a lacrosse athlete, I was able to have input on everything that I used or would have liked to use.”

​​​​The 2-story, 33,000-square-foot facility will feature a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility, locker rooms, a hydrotherapy room, an 80-seat theater, coaches’ offices, ward rooms, and rooftop terraces with terrific views of the Severn River and nearby practice fields.

Bickhart said her design was inspired by her years of using the Liberty Athletic Center as a student-athlete.

“It’s going to be a really spectacular building, and I’m excited that I get to give lacrosse the attention it deserves,” she said. “It was all in God’s perfect plan, and it’s all been falling into place.”

As a senior in Liberty’s interior design program, Bickhart took a yearlong course in which she had to design a senior living facility from the ground up. The challenge helped her build the skills she needs for her current job. She said she was encouraged by professors who often shared their own successes and struggles from their industry experience.

“They said they’d guide us through our (senior) project, but they gave us free rein and we had to figure it out on our own, and that’s how the design world is,” Bickhart said. “I learned so much from the process and from my professors sharing stories from their careers. I now understand them even more having started my own career and having my own (stories) and experiences. You only know so much until you’re in the field working hands-on.”

Her role in designing the lacrosse building has also shaped Bickhart’s perspective on her time playing at Liberty. Even though she said she didn’t put up lofty stats, those four years taught her about the importance of perseverance and finding fulfillment in her own work.

“I was never one of the team’s stars, but I gained so much knowledge playing lacrosse, learning what hardship looks like, learning how to fight through challenges, learning that I don’t have to be the center of attention to have an impactful story,” she said. “Having this opportunity to work on this lacrosse building, which I believe is coming straight from the Lord, I see now that those four years playing at Liberty were preparing me for what I do now. What I see now is that if I hadn’t stuck through it and gone through some hard stuff, I probably wouldn’t be where I am now.”