Ariana McCoy is a third-year architecture student and IPAL participant at Hampton University. With a degree in urban planning, she studies architecture and planning as tools for resistance, disrupting dominant narratives, centering Blackness and queerness, and exposing the ways the built environment has been used to control, exclude, and erase. For her, space is never neutral; every street, building, and piece of infrastructure reflect histories of power and dispossession. She is exploring the reclamation of space and challenging the systems that dictate who belong where. Ariana is also interested in creating opportunities for others, particularly those from underrepresented groups. She aims to create pathways and garner support and opportunities for herself and other young designers to succeed in spaces that have historically excluded them. As chairperson of the Hampton University AIA Outreach Committee of her local AIA Coastal Virginia chapter, she is focused on increasing diversity and ensuring other students have the tools and opportunities to succeed. Ariana is also involved in creating more visibility for HBCU students, ensuring that their voices are heard, and their work is recognized through her school's NOMAS Communications team.