Allison Gillum

Hometown: Pennington, NJ
Undergraduate Degree: Skidmore College, B.A., Environmental Studies and Psychology, 2006
Favorite City: Philadelphia
Planning Concentration: Land Use and Environmental Planning (as well as a Certificate in Land Preservation)

How did you get interested in planning?

During my senior year at Skidmore College, an environmental studies alumni came to talk to a group of students about her graduate school experience. She was going to graduate school for Environmental Policy and Planning, and she really introduced me to the world of planning. While talking to her, I realized that my unique double major in Environmental Studies and Psychology along with my minor in Government, though seemly unrelated to some, were actually a great combination for environmental planning. I had always been deeply interested in the environment as well as human psychology, and specifically how humans interact with the natural environment. I find that environmental planning really brings all of these interests together.

What was your background prior to coming to Penn?

I was very environmentally focused prior to coming to Penn. I did different environmental and government internships during my summers as an undergrad. After I graduated college, I was an environmental scientist for two years at an environmental and engineering consulting firm in Massachusetts.

Why did you choose Penn to study city planning?

Penn was by far the most hands-on and practical program I had applied to. Also, I really liked that there was a wide range of potential planning concentrations. Maybe it's my liberal arts education, but I like to have a lot of choices. While I'm mainly interested in land use and environmental planning, I find that my interests span several of the concentrations. It's nice to have many different types of planning classes available to me. Furthermore, I liked that Penn offered graduate certificate programs and dual degree programs for people who have many different interests.

What has been your favorite class so far?

I really enjoyed Tom Daniels' Planning for Land Conservation class. This class opened my eyes to how planning can be used to preserve land as well as manage population growth. It also introduced me to land trusts and played a large role in my choice to do my summer internship at a land trust in Alaska!

Are you involved in any planning related activities?

Over spring break I went to New Orleans with a group of Penn students to do volunteer city planning work. Also, I'm a member of the Environmental Planning and Ecological Design club (EPED), Urban Explorers (a group that goes out and explores cities), and I'm a representative of the Student Planning Association.

What are your career ambitions?

Right now I'm really interested in working for a land trust. However, I'm also interested in working as an environmental planner in either the public or private sectors.