To celebrate the end of the academic year, we asked graduating students to share highlights from their time at Cooper and their plans for the future. Here is a selection of responses from students across architecture, art, engineering, and the humanities and social sciences (HSS) who will be walking the stage at this year's Commencement ceremony.
 

Tell us about the people and experiences that shaped your educational path.

Skye Jones A’26 (HSS double minor in History and Theory of Art and History and Society): The privilege of studying abroad at the Slade School of Fine Art in London provided me with a learning experience that I could not have imagined. Alongside my academic experience, I was able to learn about new places and histories in person, which served to solidify an already deep-seated love of travel and sharing culture. Many things were new to me, and it was a dream to be able to create art while researching and exploring new places.

Yael Bialik CE’26 (HSS minor in Literature): My time at Cooper has been spent jamming my schedule full with as many humanities courses as I could take—from small classics seminars to independent studies. Every course has been a chance to engage with faculty and my peers, explore new viewpoints, and challenge myself beyond my engineering coursework. As a result, HSS at Cooper has enriched my communication skills from essays to mathematical derivations, giving me some of my most valuable lessons from my time in college.

Ninel Shahnazarian M.S.Arch’25: I have worked with several faculty members, including professors whose courses I took, professors with whom I spoke about my research, and others with whom I worked as their assistant. I would point to Michael Young, first and foremost, as the most humble and knowledgeable. He’s able to put himself in others’ shoes to help them the best way he can, as an architecture professor, a mentor, and now as dean of the school of architecture. Although I didn't have the chance to work with Nader Tehrani in a course, I have learned a lot about the realities of architectural practice from him. Guido Zuliani is another bold character for me; he taught me how to think about alternative concepts using architectural history and to never stop reading. If I’m naming influential people, I cannot skip Diana Agrest. Having the opportunity to work with her in the “Body Studio” was one of the best opportunities during my time at The Cooper Union. This studio, Diana’s words and thoughts, and her way of thinking and teaching will stay with me forever. I would also add Mersiha Veledar AR’03 for her kindness in giving me the valuable opportunity to work with her during the 2025 summer program and to learn about the fundamentals of teaching architecture. Hayley Eber AR’01, as acting dean during my time at Cooper, is also someone for whom I am grateful—for her kindness, nonstop support, and for putting me on the right path in my journey. I would also like to express my appreciation to Steven Hillyer AR’90 and Chris Dierks for everything they have taught me about archives and exhibitions and for their trust in me.

Elise Danko BSE’26 (minors in Bioengineering and Chemistry): Taking Modern Physics with Professor [Brittany] Corn-Agostini opened up a whole new branch of academics and different approach to learning for me. I chose to take an independent study in Quantum Mechanics the following semester so I could work further with Professor Corn. I grew to love the subject matter and went on to take several more independent studies and electives in that area. I have always enjoyed understanding how things function around me, and Quantum allowed me to pursue that understanding on an atomic level.

Regina Cervantes Ellis A’26 (HSS minor in History and Theory of Art): My most meaningful experience was definitely researching Mexican Restaurant Graphic Design for the Rhoda Lubalin Fellowship with my friend Kamai Williams at the Herb Lubalin Study Center. The Lubalin Center, and most importantly, Sasha [Tochilovsky A’00] and Jess [Kuronen A’16], the curators, have completely changed my relationship to graphic design, to how I make work, to design history, and to my life and career. Doing the fellowship, I’ve been able to hang out in the center once a week for about a year now, and it has been so gratifying not only to research my country's design history (I am from Tijuana), but also to learn and start loving design so much more because of Jess and Sasha, who I honestly think are some of the smartest people at The Cooper Union. I can say wholeheartedly that I want to pursue graphic design as a long-term career and it is partly/mostly because of how great of an experience I've had learning in the Lubalin Center with them.

Jaehyeon Park ME’26 (minor in Bioengineering): The Pfizer Digital Hackathon at the start of my junior year. Going in, I loved mechanical engineering but felt lost about which direction to take within it. The field is so broad that I had been drifting without a clear sense of what I actually wanted to pursue, and that uncertainty had taken a toll on my motivation. I joined the competition without much expectation, but working on a healthcare-focused problem with my teammates, I realized that I genuinely cared about human health and that I had something to contribute in that space. Placing second was meaningful, but more importantly, it gave me a direction. From that point on, I sought out medical research, internships, and projects with real intention. What I took away from that experience is that when you don't know what you want, sitting still is the worst thing you can do. You have to put yourself in as many different rooms as possible, and the answer tends to find you.

Jia-Rong Tsai M.S.Arch’25: Ted Baab guided me through my thesis, using his unique way of thinking and connecting things in architecture, encouraging me to question fundamentally about what we see as normal. Yoonjai Choi, with her well-designed syllabus, not only taught me about graphics in her typography class but also about how people see things and feel things, how to communicate through colors, geometry, text, and images, conceptually and physically. Marie Hubbard in the Center for Writing and Learning helped me write and read and at the same time expand my ideas about my thesis, not just as a writing class but more like training of thinking every time we met.

Vito DiGregorio CE’26: Having the opportunity to join Solar Decathlon from freshman year has really shaped my education because I got early experience in self-driven projects, which ultimately led me to wanting to lead and teach the underclassmen during my junior and senior year in a similar way that I experienced as a freshman and sophomore.
 

What are your immediate plans after graduation? Long-term plans?

Skye Jones A’26: After graduation, I plan to take a year or two to work before deciding whether I want to pursue an academic career with a master’s or Ph.D. or work in the art field (or BOTH). These upcoming years of exploration will include travel to new countries and learning a new language or two (a French Creole, Portuguese, or maybe Arabic). In the long term, I hope to have an established career in the field of my choosing, with time set aside to travel, research, and tap into the curiosity I had during my time at Cooper. Learning in both my short- and long-term plans will be at the forefront of my actions, as I have a persistent love of obtaining new information and my plans will surely reflect that desire.

Yael Bialik CE’26: Immediately after graduation I want to spend my summer exploring and traveling! Afterwards, I plan to continue my career at a design firm where I have worked throughout my time at college. Beyond that, only time will tell.

Ninel Shahnazarian M.S.Arch’25: Working on the edge of practice and academia has been, and still is, on my list of achievements, and I am working on the path to make that work in the way that I planned.

Elise Danko BSE’26: In August, I plan on starting a biomedical engineering research position focused on neurosurgical instrumentation and techniques. After working for a couple years, I will attend medical school to become a surgeon, with my overarching goal being to work with a humanitarian medical aid group such as Doctors Without Borders.

Regina Cervantes Ellis A’26: I currently work part-time as a studio assistant at a small graphic design studio in DUMBO called Palette. I’m looking for a more permanent full-time role as an intern or junior designer, where I can continue to learn and grow, within a larger studio or firm. I hope to eventually pursue a master’s degree, and in a dream scenario, work as a designer for a magazine or cultural institution. Later in my career, I would love to teach, but anything could happen!

Jaehyeon Park ME’26: I have been fortunate to receive offers from several graduate programs as well as internship and full-time positions, but each of them points toward a slightly different subfield, so I am still working through which one aligns best with what I want to build long-term. My current plan is to complete an internship over the summer and then begin my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in the fall, where I hope to focus on medical device research. If I find that research truly suits me, I would like to continue toward a Ph.D. If not, I see myself working in the medical device industry for a few years and eventually starting something of my own in that space. I am still figuring out the specifics, but the through-line is clear to me: I want to spend my career building things that improve people's health and quality of life.

Jia-Rong Tsai M.S.Arch’25: Working in New York. Long term, I'm not sure.

Vito DiGregorio CE’26: I will be joining Colliers Engineering & Design as an engineering designer in their Bridges and Structures Department. I am also going to be joining Cooper as a part-time graduate student in the Civil Engineering Department. For long term, I hope to get my PE license in a few years and ultimately work as a practicing structural engineer with hopes of becoming a principal of a firm.
 

What are you most proud of from your time at Cooper?

Skye Jones A’26: I am most proud of my growth as both a student and person. Cooper was a challenge for me, and by finishing, I have gained a new feeling of accomplishment and confidence in my own abilities. I now feel more prepared to face challenges regardless of my fear of failure, because here is where I really understood how much challenges are a part of learning and growth. I transferred to Cooper and was given a whole new set of expectations to meet and goals I wanted to accomplish, getting two minors being one of them. In two and a half semesters at Cooper, I was determined to get them, and I did, with a lot of support, encouragement, and considerable effort. I learned a considerable amount in the classroom, but it was the application of those teachings in my everyday life combined with new social settings that has helped me become more of the person, student, and friend I desire to be.

Yael Bialik CE’26: I’m incredibly proud of the sense of perseverance I’ve gained throughout my time at Cooper. From challenging coursework, to balancing many different things on my plate, I can confidently say that I will be leaving campus with a sense of pride knowing that I can handle whatever comes my way.

Ninel Shahnazarian M.S.Arch’25: I am proud of the courage that my professors and peers at school taught me. I am proud to be a small part of a big family, The Cooper Union, where there are people with endless talents. And at the end, I am proud of the two main projects that I have done with the guidance of the teachers who would stay with me and guide me to the pathways that I have worked for: my thesis project, with Guido Zuliani and Michael Young, and the Body Studio project with Diana Agrest.

Elise Danko BSE’26: I am proud of many of my projects at Cooper such as founding and successfully bringing the Cooper Union Toboggan Team to compete in GNCTR 2026. However, what I am truly most proud of is how many of my goals and dreams I accomplished in the last four years. I recently received a letter that I forgot I wrote to myself in freshman year. I had a list of goals and plans for what I wanted to do during my time at Cooper, and there was not a single one I had not followed through on.

Regina Cervantes Ellis A’26: The friendships and relationships I've built. I love my friends and my great teachers who have always been so generous with giving their time to the ugliest sculptures or the nastiest infographics I could come up with in Graphic Design II. I will have friends for life from The Cooper Union, and I am very grateful for every friend and teacher who had the patience to push me past my comfort zone.

Jaehyeon Park ME’26: What I am most proud of is winning second place at the NIH DEBUT Challenge and placing in the Pfizer Digital Hackathon two years in a row, alongside my teammates. Cooper does not have a bioengineering major program, so being recognized at competitions in that space meant a lot to us. I hope these moments helped show that even without a dedicated program, Cooper students can hold their own in interdisciplinary fields, and that our school, though small, punches well above its weight. More than the awards themselves, I hope this leaves a small mark for future students.

Jia-Rong Tsai M.S.Arch’25: Being able to talk about my thesis in English.

Vito DiGregorio CE’26: My proudest moment at Cooper would be in this last semester, when I had the opportunity to lead a team of civil engineering students in the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition and share knowledge and experience with them, where we ultimately placed first in the Metropolitan Student Conference and Symposium.