Alum Spotlight: Leah Shenandoah, Ph.D. ’23

September 8, 2025

Leah Shenandoah, Ph.D. ’23, is an alumna of the fiber science and apparel design doctoral program at Cornell with minors in Indigenous studies, ethnography, and neuroscience. She is now a tenure track assistant professor at OCAD University.

Tell us about your current position and what you find rewarding about it.

I’m an assistant professor at OCAD University in the Indigenous Visual Culture and Material Art & Design programs. I teach from an Indigenous, community-rooted perspective, and I love helping students see how their identities and lived experiences can inform powerful creative practices. Holding space for transformation, whether through materials, storytelling, or personal growth, is deeply rewarding. After spending so long advocating for myself in institutions that weren’t built with people like me in mind, it’s meaningful to finally be in a place where my work and voice are not just allowed, but needed.

How did your Cornell graduate education prepare you to succeed professionally?

Cornell gave me the tools to think critically, design with intention, and back up my creative work with research and theory. That said, a lot of my “success” came from learning how to advocate for myself within spaces that didn’t always feel safe or inclusive. I had to fight to be heard, to bring my culture into the room, and to be taken seriously as both an academic and an artist. That experience made me more resilient and more committed to creating inclusive spaces for others. If it wasn’t for my mentors in the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) and my supportive friends, I never would have been able to graduate. AIISP deserves its own academic building on campus to honor the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ ancestors and land Cornell resides on.

If you were supported by a fellowship during your graduate studies, how did it help you?

Yes, it made a huge difference while it lasted. As a solo parent and caretaker for family members while completing my Ph.D., the fellowship gave me a chance to breathe and focus. It wasn’t just financial; it felt like a recognition that my work mattered, even when I didn’t always feel seen in the day-to-day academic grind. That support helped me keep going.

What does it mean to you to be the first Indigenous graduate from Cornell’s fiber science and apparel design Ph.D. program?

It’s something I hold with deep reverence, but also heaviness. I carry not just my own dreams, but the dreams of those who came before me and weren’t allowed in these spaces. I often felt isolated, and the burden of representation was real. But I also felt guided by my ancestors and knew that just being there and doing the work, telling the truth, was a form of resistance and resurgence.

How did your art, activism, music, and scholarship inform and influence your Ph.D. journey?

They’re all braided together; my art is how I survive and a part of my spirit. My music is prayer. My activism comes from love and inclusivity, and my scholarship is a reflection of all of that. My dissertation wasn’t just academic; it was ceremonial. It gave voice to generational trauma and cultural resilience through design, fashion, and regalia. The process was painful and liberating. It changed me and hopefully creates space for other marginalized folks to be seen, heard, and respected.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I love making music, cooking for my son, making jewelry, sewing, writing poetry, and spending time near water or in the woods. My creativity doesn’t stop at the studio or classroom; it’s a way of life. I’m always reclaiming, healing, and transmuting.

If you could go back in time to the beginning of your graduate school journey, what advice would you give yourself?

Stop trying to be “palatable.” Your voice is powerful, even when it shakes. Rest is not failure. You are not too much, you are sacred, and so is your voice and work. Find the ones who see you. Protect your energy. You don’t need to earn safety or belonging, you already deserve both.