Sarah Gyurina

Hometown: Melrose, Massachusetts
Education Background: B.A. in Environmental Studies, Hamilton College

How did you get interested in your field?
Landscape architecture felt like a synthesis of my many seemingly disparate interests. In the face of great societal change, I was interested in the potential of ecological restoration projects to improve climate resilience, as well as the value of public space to improve civic relations and build community resilience. I really wanted to have a hand in designing and building the future, not just talking about it.

What was your background prior to coming to Penn?
My undergraduate studies, in typical liberal arts fashion, spanned history, political theory, ecology, and social science, culminating in a thesis on the role of social capital in building community wildfire resilience in Northern California. I had worked seasonally in camp jobs and Workaway throughout college. After graduating, I lived in Somerville, MA and worked as a community partnerships liaison for a solar company that focused on state-funded low-income solar programs.

Why did you choose Penn?
I wanted to be surrounded by great thinkers and designers and found kinship in the faculty and students I met at the open house. The ethos of Penn’s curriculum, as one grounded in design-research, history, and sensitive site analysis was exciting to me. I feel like it’s a well-rounded approach to our education.

What has been your favorite class so far?
Each of the studios has been so distinct from each other, which has been great to jump in scale. As far as electives, my Constructing the American Public Realm seminar with Chris Marcinkoski has been blowing my mind.

What are you learning right now that will help you in the future?
In my current 6010 Studio, we are investigating Staten Island’s complex history of industry, extraction and ecology, and are developing varied approaches to “design-research” and how to visually present and narrativize our findings before launching into a site intervention.

What do you like best about Philadelphia?
Philly has so many distinct and cute neighborhoods that I’ve enjoyed exploring on bike or foot. West Philly also has the best Farmer’s Market every Saturday and a cool underground music and dance scene!

What kinds of activities and/or organizations are you involved in?
I’m a LARP student representative, meaning I facilitate communication between my cohort and the Department. I also work for PennPraxis as a design fellow, as an assistant at the Visual Studies Department, and I try to attend as many departmental lectures as I can. Outside of Penn I bike around, play in a band, and go to shows around Philly.

What are your career ambitions?
I want to work on impactful, beautiful, and resilient projects that enhance public life and local ecologies.