The NDSU College of Human Sciences and Education is honoring Sandy Strand during Homecoming Week as the college’s distinguished alumna for 2021.

Strand, BS ’77, interior design, is set to receive the 2021 NDSU Foundation’s Alumni Achievement Award during the Evening of Distinction event scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 7.

Strand has had a remarkable career. Currently, she is the director of Strand and Associates, based in the Washington, D.C. area.

Prior to the pandemic, she worked from Shanghai, China. Also while in Shanghai, Strand was director of interior design at Gensler, a global design and architecture firm that has offices in 49 cities in 16 countries.

Some of her noteworthy efforts include a major project for Mary Kay and the interior design of a 765,000-square-foot Dow Chemical campus. The Dow Chemical project won the 2007 Gensler’s Design Excellence Award, which is awarded to one internal project per year.

Other stops in her career include HOK in St. Louis and Hong Kong, and being a vice president at Ellerbe Becket in Minneapolis. She also worked in Houston, Denver and Dallas during the decade following her graduation.

“Sandy could earn the distinguished alumni award on her professional accomplishments alone, but it is her continued engagement with the college that sets her apart. Sandy has coordinated internship experiences for our Interior Design students in China, served on the HSE alumni board and inspired students with her class visits, said Jill Nelson, interim dean of human science and education. “She serves as a model for what it means to be successful internationally while remaining connected to her roots here at NDSU.”

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