Vanessa Abou Harb
Vanessa Abou Harb is an experienced and practicing designer since spring 2021, working alongside a team of experimental architects in Lebanon. Driven by passion for built environment, Vanessa graduated from the Lebanese American University (LAU) School of Architecture and Design in 2021 with a Bachelor of Architecture. She takes pride in receiving the competitive Fulbright Scholarship for 2022, with a goal to pursue a post professional master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin Madison, USA. She has been recognized for both her service and academic excellence in her undergraduate journey, through several awards such as the honors program, the Torch Award, the Baccalaureate Scholarship, the high distinction list, and the Farhat Award for Academic Excellence. In addition to her academic and professional paths, she has dedicated a great amount of time to the service of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), of which she presided over the LAU Chapter for two years, and acted as the Middle East Ambassador for the year 2021-2022. For the past year, Vanessa has been working with the Department of Political Science at UW-Madison to digitize 20th century paper maps of Egypt. For Vanessa, a responsible planner is first a knowledgeable citizen, believing in the need to Lead Through Design and Service. For that reason, she will be dedicating the next two years to focus on sustainable community development strategies which she could take with her and implement in her home country, Lebanon.