When Pearson Foster talks about Design Council, he doesn’t start with policy or programming. He starts with people.

A third-year architecture student, Foster’s path to the College of Design wasn’t exactly linear. He started his academic journey at NC State through the Exploratory Studies program, then transferred into Design Studies. From there, he applied to architecture, with a couple of “no thank you” responses. 

That persistence is now part of how he leads. “This is my third time applying to be an architect,” he recalls during his interview. If nothing else, it proved he wasn’t going anywhere.

That same determination is shaping the return of the college’s on-again off-again student-run Design Council.

The student government is rebuilding from the ground up, after a slowdown in the 2010s and near-extinction during the pandemic. There were no neatly organized binders to inherit, no step-by-step transition. Just scattered archives, old photos of packed courtyard parties in the early 2000s and stories from faculty who remember when Design Council was “massive.”

Now, Foster and his team are writing the next chapter.

“We have two wings,” he explains. One is student-focused: events that pull people out of studio and remind them they’re more than deadlines and desk crits. The other is advocacy: representing students in administrative spaces and speaking up about real concerns.

That balance has already been tested. When a proposed undergraduate enhancement fee surfaced, Design Council organized a town hall, gathered feedback and returned to administrators with specific concerns and alternatives. That input will inform administrators as they continue to consider the implications of an undergraduate fee. 

At the same time, the council is working to rebuild trust internally. After a long hiatus, momentum doesn’t magically reappear. Students have to believe that if they show up, something meaningful, or at least fun, will happen. Faculty expectations add another layer. Many remember Design Council in its heyday, complete with legendary events like the Beaux Arts Ball. Reviving traditions in a new era requires creativity and, occasionally, navigating university red tape.

Still, the vision is forward-looking.

Foster sees a Design Council that unites disciplines across Brooks Hall and beyond. Architecture, industrial design, graphic and experience design, media arts and landscape architecture: each major operates in its own intense ecosystem. But the college’s foundation is interdisciplinary learning. Design Council, he believes, can model that collaboration outside the classroom by bringing clubs together for shared initiatives and large-scale events.

“The main goal is bringing people together.”

“The main goal,” he says, “is bringing people together.”

It’s a simple statement, but it carries weight in a college known for long studio hours and high expectations. Through mentorship programs, committee representation and community events, Design Council is creating more entry points for students to connect with each other and with leadership.

Foster’s advice to students is refreshingly straightforward: try things. Run for something. Go to the meeting. Make the thing even if it flops. The College of Design, he says, is one of the few places where experimentation and failure are not just tolerated but expected.

Design Council’s return isn’t about recreating 2003. It’s about building something that fits now: a student-led bridge between studios and administration, tradition and change. And if Foster’s journey is any indication, it’s proof that sometimes the third try is the one that sticks.