Finding a balance between work and school is a major adjustment. It requires trial and error, understanding how you function in both environments and prioritizing correctly. It takes time for people to figure it out, but Ana Roman Andrino has figured out her own method of making both work. While serving the School of Architecture and Planning as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, she is also on track to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a Ph.D. by the end of this year.
Ana grew up in Salamanca, a municipality in northwestern Spain known for its stunning architecture. She attended the University of Salamanca, then studied at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, receiving Architecture degrees from both schools. In 2012, she came to the United States to attend Catholic University for her Masters, the first of many. Ana studied under Julio Bermudez’s direction within the Sacred Space Concentration, eventually receiving a Master in Theological Studies at the John Paul II Institute at The Catholic University of America. Upon her graduation from Catholic U, she went on to study a Master in Science of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2016, Ana began teaching studio courses at Catholic University after moving back to the District. Two years later, as if three Masters degrees were not enough, Ana began her Ph.D. track through UPenn, with the intention to teach architecture in a higher educational setting. Her dissertation is currently a work in progress, but she is aiming to graduate with it by the end of 2024. The positive is that Ana can work on her dissertation on her own time, which she finds to be ideal, considering she is a full-time Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies.
Balancing a full time job while being a part time student is a challenge that Ana conquers with grace and dexterity. “I’m doing my best,” she says modestly, “I try to do a little bit of everything every day.” The list of responsibilities under her job title take priority due to their time sensitivity, so organizing her schedule to allow for at least a little time to focus on her research is crucial to avoid procrastination. “I have a flexible schedule that I adjust to the needs of the students, and I try to make time for them.”
The overarching theme of Ana’s dissertation is beauty in both sacred and secular architecture, specifically how Mexican architect Luis Barragán has integrated that idea into his work.
Barragán’s intention in creating a beautiful space is what piqued Ana’s interest and motivated her to select his work as a focus. The most exciting part of doing all of this research is being able to translate it to the classroom. This semester, instead of teaching studio, Ana is teaching an elective course called 'Beauty and Sacred Architecture’ (ARPL 419/519), where she is able to incorporate her research into her lesson plans.