How did you get interested in planning?
I had been interested in architecture and the built environment from a young age, but I first became interested in planning issues during college, while studying the planning history of my hometown for a class assignment. I realized that there were tangible reasons why I enjoyed living in my neighborhood, and I wanted to bring similar kinds of "livable" environments to others. I solidified this interest during a summer fellowship with a public housing authority, where I learned about the historical and contemporary connections between federal housing policies and the lives of the nation's poor. A lot of mistakes have been made in planning history, and I want to work toward correcting them.

What kind of work experience do you have?
During college I worked for a number of different organizations, including the Housing Authority of New Haven, The Community Builders, and a real estate developer in Louisville, Kentucky. After college, I worked for a historic preservation consulting firm in Los Angeles , as well as for the planning website Planetizen. I also remain involved with The Next American City magazine.

Why did you choose Penn to study city planning?
Penn has a solid reputation as one of the best planning programs in the country, especially in terms of its expert faculty, and its community and economic development program. I also wanted to be closer to family, and to attend the law school, where I will be studying in the fall.

What has been your favorite class so far?
During my first semester in school, my favorite class was Global Urban Development, Planning, and Policy with visiting lecturer Dr. Marc Weiss. The class was extremely challenging, and I learned a lot about economic development theory and practice, as well as about community and economic development challenges in developing countries. I especially enjoyed reading Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus'autobiography Banker to the Poor, Hernando de Soto 's The Mystery of Capital, and Manuel Castells and Peter Hall's Technopoles of the World.

What are your career ambitions?
At the moment, they are quite broad: I hope to combine my degrees in planning and law to work toward the creation and implementation of progressive public policies that help people who need them most. Public service at the local, state, or federal level has always appealed to me, but in general I hope that graduate school will help me narrow my interests and choose a rewarding career path!