Pisey Kim is attending Syracuse University’s School of Architecture and works part-time as a student assistant at the King & King Architecture Library on a construction materials project and actively participates in the Women in Design Club. She is running an “Architecture Scholars Network” project where Cambodian architecture students sign-up to share their experiences, topics of interest, and knowledge related to architecture. 

Pisey found her passion for architecture and first learned about building during her college studies at ITC, an engineering school in Cambodia. While a senior in high school at the Harpswell Foundation, a women’s leadership center in Phnom Penh, Pisey led consultations with fellow students, resolved problems, worked with school management, and organized events. Pisey has volunteered as a teacher for World Assistance for Cambodia, raised funds to build schools, and helped keep various communities’ through road clean-up projects.

Pisey worked for three months as an intern assistant to the site engineer at VT-Engineering in Cambodia, and saw first-hand the high-rise residential construction process and how workers are supervised. She noticed a scarcity of female engineers and how most workers lacked construction-related knowledge. Pisey is committed to becoming an urban planner to design efficient and sustainable development plans for public land use. She intends to return to Cambodia after completing her degree to invest in the training of local skilled workers, hire more female engineers, and explore how architecture can be used to address environmental issues, including waste management in Cambodia. 

Highlights From Pisey’s Work Experience:

Intern, VT-Engineering Company

Material Project Assistant, Working at Architecture Library

Dean’s List GPA: 3.366

Languages Spoken: English and Khmer