Joshua T. Lessard

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: During a gathering of elders debating the relocation of their village to survive a drought, I learned the humbling and sobering truth that surviving changing climates will not be isolated or easy. Five years later, I spend every day documenting and sharing customs, traditions and heritage as the exhibition designer for Penn’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Regardless of the project, I have the opportunity to give a voice to people whose identities and livelihoods are challenged by the conditions they face every day.

HOW DREXEL HELPED: We only achieve great things by standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. My time at Drexel provided me with amazing mentors: Westphal College of Media Arts and Design professors Judith Bing, Mark Brack and John DeFazio. It was also the place where I met professional collaborators (in particular, fellow alumnus Tom Quigley), as well as my greatest source of support and inspiration, my partner Alex.

MY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: First, that the architecture and engineering communities collectively respond to the rising threats brought by climate change through the rapid deployment of peace-keeping/stabilization measures, revisions to the building code and adopting innovative business models. Second, that academia and the nonprofit sector continue conversations about “decolonizing epistemology” and adopt methodologies for giving communities agency to enact their own visions. Third, that the rising millennial workforce helps society at-large grow beyond a dualist worldview.