Empowering Futures: How Student Support Transforms the GSD Experience

Attending a top-tier design school is an investment of time, energy, and finances. To attract, enroll, and support the brightest and most talented scholars who will become leaders in transforming the built and natural environment, the GSD has made financial aid a key priority—and many of the school’s supporters have done the same. Hear from four fellowship recipients about what these generous gifts have meant to them and how that support has impacted their GSD experience.

Jordan Braverman Financial Aid Fund: Kanna Atarashi MUP ’24

Kanna is a Tokyo native who hopes to bring justice-centered planning approaches to communities across Japan, where women, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other marginalized groups are often sidelined in the planning process, especially regarding the development of public spaces and parks.

Kanna’s most memorable GSD experience was a final review for her Urban Planning Core Studio, when students brought their ideas to community members in Lynn, Massachusetts, where the studio was based. Kanna and her fellow students had set up small 3D models of their interventions, including game tables, adjustable benches, and even a dinosaur-shaped splash pad. They watched with delight as a young girl came to their table and used the models—and her own creativity—to create a public space that excited her.

Phil Freelon Fellowship Fund: Michael Bryan II MLA ’26

Michael Bryan II, originally from Stone Mountain, Georgia, describes his experience at the GSD, and the support he received from the Phil Freelon Fellowship, as profoundly meaningful. He values the school’s collaborative environment, where he and his peers mutually support and encourage one another’s successes.

Upon completing his degree, Michael plans to advance his focus on culturally based practice and education by expanding his thesis into a sustained research practice and further exploring landscape architecture as a tool for spatial translation to empower historically marginalized cultures. He seeks to explore how design can both support preservation and inspire speculative futures by capturing the collective memory of these communities.

Professor William J. LeMessurier Fellowship: Emily Eggers MArch ’25

With a bachelor’s degree in studio art, film, and media studies, Emily’s academic trajectory has gradually shifted from the more abstract to the tangible. She sees that arc as a natural progression of increasingly complex design problems and chose to study design at the GSD because the school offers the most holistic design approach. During her time at the GSD, Emily has gained new perspectives by collaborating with peers from a wide array of backgrounds and engaging with faculty who explore the intersections of architecture, film, and other disciplines. She values the way the school allows students to pursue an astonishing variety of individual interests while still holding design as the core connecting principle.

As graduation approaches, Emily is eager to gain experience in architectural practice and seeks opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary projects that integrate her three academic interests.

Daniel L. Schodek Fellowship: San Wong Kang DDes ’26

San Wong considers both Mexico and South Korea his home countries and understands firsthand the financial challenges international students face when studying in the US. He currently works as a researcher at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities and has taken part in interdisciplinary courses at the Engineering School. His research focuses on utilizing artificial intelligence to optimize indoor humidity management. By examining the complex, nonlinear relationships between humidity and other environmental factors through data analysis, San aims to shift from conventional methods to an adaptive, data-driven approach.

For information on supporting students at the GSD, please contact Courtney Ward, Managing Director of Development.

Published February 2025