As Aynaz Alaei was growing up in Dubai, spectacular flights of architectural fancy were suddenly rising from that ancient ground to create the most modern skyline on the planet today. A natural artist who also excelled at math and physics, Aynaz decided during high school that she wanted to become an architect—one who might, one day, add her own vision to the inspiring backdrop for her life so far. But when it came to choosing where to get her degree, she set her sights a world away, on NYIT in New York City. "Coming here alone at age 17 was something that I had to do," she says, in spite of her mom's initial tendency to "freak out" about her daughter's readiness to live and study in a city so far from home. As a student at NYIT, Aynaz has never been more certain that her leap of faith landed her exactly in the place where she belonged—academically, personally, and professionally. She lived in a residence hall for first three years, and continues to enjoy the friendships she forged the...