Anna Soryal (she/her)

College of Fine Arts

2nd Year / Master's in Architecture

Hometown: Chagrin Falls, Ohio

What are your academic and/or professional goals? My main professional and academic goal is to work toward equity in the built environment. Architecture reflects our cultural values as much as it reflects the ownership of capital. I'm steadfast in the pursuit of a liberatory architecture that serves the working class.
Tell us about a significant moment in your academic journey at CMU so far. Some of my most significant moments at CMU took place last semester as I became involved in ACT, or Against Carceral Tech. It's a student and alumni-run organization that works to resist surveillance, predictive policing, and other forms of oppressive technology employed by the state.
What do you like to do in your time away from academic work? As someone who loves drawing and painting, I've really enjoyed applying henna on myself and my friends the past few years. It's a way to connect with my Egyptian heritage in the diaspora, as well as tatting myself up without the commitment. Y'all would laugh if you saw how tiny my one tattoo is.
Tell us about your last memorable meal. What was it, where did you have it, and who were you with? My classmates and I absolutely tore up a potluck dinner in November. These folks simply do not play when it comes to pani puri, jollof rice, masala khichdi. That meal left me seriously food-drunk the entire bus ride home.
What's your favorite thing about Pittsburgh? I've been grateful to find people from many different walks of life and corners of the world in Pittsburgh. It's been rewarding to find comrades whose experiences differ so much and yet they've led us to such similar pursuits in life.