The 2025 Unsung Heroes and jury members smiling in front of a gold curtain

The Alumni Council of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the Frances Loeb Library are pleased to honor three students with the 2025 Unsung Hero Book Prize. This year’s honorees are Navya Raju MDes ’25, Miriam Hernandez Medina MLA ’26, and Allen Wang MDes ’25.

“Navya, Miriam, and Allen have done a simple thing that takes significant commitment: they’ve made our school a better place,” said Alumni Council member and award co-chair Beth Roloff MArch ’14. “Serving on the Unsung Hero jury for the last five years has been an immense privilege. As my rotation on the Alumni Council comes to a close, I’m grateful for the opportunity to witness the selfless acts of our future design leaders and share their good deeds with the larger GSD community.”

Deserving students are nominated for the Unsung Hero Book Prize, now in its nineteenth year, each spring by fellow GSD students, faculty, and staff, with winners subsequently selected by the Alumni Council. Prize recipients are awarded the book of their choice by the Alumni Council; a second copy is donated to the Loeb Library with a bookplate. The library is also creating a dedicated area for the plated books chosen by Unsung Hero winners over the years.

“The Unsung Hero Book Prize is special for all of us at the GSD because it recognizes leadership that happens through building community among GSD students and honors those who give of themselves in many different ways to create community,” said Ann Whiteside, Librarian/Assistant Dean for Information Services at the Loeb Library. “The partnership between the Loeb Library and the Alumni Council on this award is a highlight of the year, and it reminds all of us that even when the students graduate, they are still—and always will be—part of the GSD community.”

The three 2025 Unsung Heroes received praise from their peers for their commitment to mentoring, the selfless sharing of their time, and their roles as passionate ambassadors for fellow students. In particular, nominators noted their work toward building a fairer and more inclusive school environment.

Navya Raju stands beside a Harvard GSD podium and flower bouquet

Navya Raju MDes ’25 is an architect, dreamer, and quiet force from Bangalore, India. Driven by the conviction that design has the power to heal people, cities, and the planet, she believes her work plays a critical role in addressing the climate crisis and redefining how architecture contributes to a more sustainable future. As a student at both the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Navya blends rigorous research with creative exploration to reimagine the built environment. Her expertise bridges theoretical inquiry with practical, data-driven solutions in building decarbonization, lifecycle assessment, greenhouse gas accounting, and sustainable energy systems, all directed toward cross-sector environmental progress.

For her book, Navya selected The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest. On receiving the award, she said, “This award means more than I can fully put into words. It’s not just recognition, it’s a quiet reminder that showing up with intention, leading with kindness, and doing the right thing—even when no one’s watching—truly matters. It encourages me to keep giving my best in the small, everyday moments, and to stay grounded in humility, empathy, and care. To be recognized this way, in a community I admire so deeply, is incredibly humbling. I’m deeply grateful not just for this honor, but for what it represents, and for the peers and professors who continue to shape and inspire me every day.”

Miriam Hernandez Medina in a teal dress speaks at the Harvard GSD podium

Miriam Hernandez Medina MLA ’26 is an architect from Chihuahua, Mexico. Before joining the MLA I program in 2023, she earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Now in her second year, she balances her GSD courses with roles as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and student supply store employee, while also working as a notetaker to support fellow students. For her book, Miriam selected La casa que canta by Mariana Yampolsky, which captures the essence and cultural richness of Mexican landscapes and vernacular architecture through photography. Miriam’s hope is that the book provides insights into the multiple layers of place and identity, inspiring students to never forget where they come from and who they are—no matter where life takes them.

On receiving the award, Miriam said, “Winning this prize is an honor for me. I want to make sure I’m being kind to everyone in the building, knowing that sometimes a smile, a conversation, or even a joke could make a difference amid the stressful environment that we all can experience sometimes. I am grateful to my parents and family, who taught me the value of always helping others without expecting anything in return. I am happy and grateful to have the recognition of my friends, peers, and the Alumni Council. Hearing the words of kindness they used to describe me will forever be one of my favorite memories from the GSD.”

Allen Wang speaks at a Harvard GSD podium in front of a slideshow and audience

Allen Wang MDes ’25 was born in China but grew up in Toronto, Canada, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and worked as a service designer and contract researcher before beginning his graduate studies. In the MDes Ecologies program, he is bridging his human-centered expertise in design thinking with more macroscopic perspectives around environmental factors. His current research, based on a month of fieldwork in Nepal, explores the mountains as knowledge infrastructures for the country’s ecological health and how the increasing perception of climate change, disasters, and other patterns are shifting the relationships with risk among participants in the ecotourism industry.

For his book, Allen chose Self as Method: Thinking Through China and the World by Xiang Biao and Qi Wu, which he first read in an anthropology course on lived experiences during the fall 2024 semester. The book is a series of three interviews with Chinese anthropologist Biao, who reflects on his formative years growing up and entering academia as well as on the state of Chinese society in today’s globalized world. As someone who was born in China but grew up in Canada, Allen found the book transformative. On receiving the award, he said, “To me, the Unsung Hero book prize surfaces much of the work I’ve been doing for the past two years as a co-chair of the Design Research Forum, which is a student-led platform for supporting design research at the GSD. I became involved with the DRF to find ways to create places and occasions for MDes students and other students interested in design research to gather and connect on shared interests. In my first year, we had a $300 budget to spend for the whole year, and I remember biking to Market Basket before every event to buy nachos and soda—rain, ice, or shine; Market Basket was the cheapest option, after all. This year, by building on that momentum and liaising with MDes faculty and administrators, we successfully expanded our budget by a factor of ten, which has enabled us to run events including student-led workshops and MDes alumni panels. The experience reinforced my belief that students and faculty can collaborate in pragmatic ways to improve students’ access to the support they need. Thank you to my peers, my cohort, the jurors, the Alumni Council, my parents and my family for this recognition.”

Photos by Anita Kan.