Hello everyone!
Happy (belated) New Year — oh, what a year it’s been and oh, what a year it will be. While I had a lot of transformative NYE resolutions for 2023, this year I’m focusing on consistency in old but good habits, a seemingly less exciting, but still quite challenging goal. As I explained on a podcast for The Knowledge Society and in my 20 Lessons for my 20s piece 🎉, part of maturing means finding your key mindsets, communities, and values. In that vein, this past semester helped me focus on my academic interests, deepen friendships, and embark on a voyage across Saudi Arabia in pursuit of what the future of cities can look like. Looking forward to catching up!
All In on the Future of Urban Studies 🌇
I finally found “my thing” in college! In combination with deciding on a more focused academic programme, I recently became a Fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale. There I will be focusing on urban design history, cybersecurity and AI policy, as well as international finance and financial fraud. It may seem like . . . a lot, haha, but I believe the intersection explains where and how cities grow and die.
So far, I’ve explored and written about:
sovereign and regional wealth funds
the mechanics of public housing allocation algorithms
Baroque era manifestation of theological architecture in Rome
mega-construction and tech projects in Jeddah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi
museum design (public spaces are desperately in need of an aesthetic revival . . .)
I’ve also been sitting in on the planning sessions for the American Institute of Architects’s Future of Practice committee. Stay tuned for a new Medium piece summarizing my observations on the industry.
Exploring the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
Another midterms season, another international adventure! I think I’ve made this a habit, haha, from being a delegate to the Polish Economic Forum over the winter to the incredible Gateway KSA program this autumn. A trip of a lifetime, truly, especially for a curious lil gal from Brooklyn like me. Photos are from:
sitting at the airport watching a video on futuristic cities in the Middle East. I teared up realizing I had crossed half the world to witness developments I had just read about back in my dorm.
meeting with the local Chamber of Commerce to learn about plans to attract international business and luxury tourists to Jeddah, as well as modernize the annual pilgrimage experience for millions of visitors
visiting the high-tech college town of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
stumbling upon the 2nd International Architecture and Design Conference at Effat University
discovering the timeless treasures of the Al-'Ula desert oasis (what a fantastic name 😉)
and, of course, doing midterm assignments on the go in Riyadh . . .
Ode to Emotion & the Sea 🌊
Right before I left for KSA (and I mean 4AM the morning of my flight!), I packed up an exhibition I hosted at a local Yale art gallery after receiving a Creative and Performing Arts Award. Read more HERE!
Listening > Speaking 🎟️
After a lot of time working with the Yale Political Union, one of my goals became to find role models in public speaking and rhetoric. How does one adapt the same message for different audiences? Some highlights this semester include grilling Jordan Peterson, hanging out with Cory Levy (Z Fellows), and meeting Kyriakos Mitsotakis (PM of Greece 🇬🇷).
Thinking back to winter break, I read through a hugeee stack of books and had a blast spreading Christmas joy through service to others. I also highly recommend listening and waltzing to the timelessly beautiful Viennese Neujahrskonzert playlist!
Shukran! 👋
Ula