We Do Something About It
I delivered this speech on January 16, 2026, at the launch of the ninth edition of Carnegie Mellon Architecture’s book of student work: “x-change.” Since 2025, I am now officially co-editor of this publication, and it is one of my proudest professional achievements.
I believe in the power of writing. I believe that it can change minds, and change worlds, for the better. And I believe in higher education, which, at its best, brings together a society of learners dedicated to knowledge, truth and the improvement of the human condition.
To build, to publish, to create, is to dedicate one’s life to the lives yet to come.
Since the inception of “x-change” in 2017, I have had the pleasure of working on the publication in an editorial capacity. I am proud to, for the first time, be co-editor of the book. For the last nine years, “x-change” has offered a unique opportunity to bring together the work of the school, from first year courses, to theses, elective studios, master’s research, Ph.D. dissertation work, and beyond. There is no other place that brings us together as a school in the same way as the “x-change” publication and exhibition. Curating the work into one “voice” is no easy task, but it is an important one. Staff, faculty, and students, including our dedicated “x-change” student team, work throughout the school year and over the summer to bring this book across the finish line. It is incredibly rewarding to see it now in hard copy, and we are eager and excited to share it with you.
Publishing the book in hard copy is in itself a testament to our aspirations for the work; we endeavor to preserve it for years to come. Long after you all will have graduated and gone on to your careers and lives ahead, this book remains, a series of yearbooks, of time capsules, an archive of what intrigued you, motivated you, all rooted in a specific moment in time.
We may be disparate in our approaches to the work, and to the topics we tackle, but we are united in undertaking the work we feel needs to be done. It’s cliche to say that our heart is in the work, but it is truly the case. Through times of intense political upheaval, a global pandemic, the crises of climate change, of social injustices, and grappling with the implications of artificial intelligence in our work and daily lives, we persist. We do something about it. Through it all, we keep publishing. And each one of us contributes to a larger whole dedicated to addressing the great challenges of our time.