How did you get interested in planning?
I was first introduced to urban planning through my architectural studies at the University of Minnesota. I was interested in site planning and master planning issues in my studio projects and began to concentrate my designs on those concepts. Planning and urban design grabbed my attention because it can have a great effect on people's daily lives and choices, more so than architecture. The ability to affect how comfortable a person can feel in an environment through urban design is an overwhelming responsibility that I would like to learn to take on.

What kind of work experience do you have?
I worked as staff to the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission for almost two years. While I was there, I worked on moving a new historic district through the city planning process, reviewed building permits for compliance with historic preservation design guidelines, prepared staff reports and assisted with running public hearings for the Commission. I also interned at the St. Paul on the Mississippi Design Center, which is part of the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation. This organization worked on making the city a place to work, live and play in. We focused on downtown and riverfront development. As the urban design intern, I prepared a small area neighborhood plan for the Stryker George Community on St. Paul's west side. I also worked on the Great River Park plan which focused on connecting the 16 river parks in St. Paul along the Mississippi River. I assisted in running numerous design charrettes for this project, helped draft comprehensive maps of the river and drafted a numerous portion of the initial briefing packet for the project.

Why did you choose Penn to study city planning?
I chose to apply and attend the University of Pennsylvania because of its excellent Urban Design program and faculty such as Jonathan Barnett, Dr. Eugene Birch and Dean Gary Hack. I also think that Penn serves as a great example for other universities in relation to its role in the surrounding neighborhood. In addition, the city of Philadelphia is a wonderful reason to study here because of its history in planning, numerous internship opportunities in the field and fun events to partake in on the weekends.

What has been your favorite class so far?
I am not sure yet, but the Intro to City Planning class taught by Dr. Birch and the Structure of Cities and Regions taught by Professor Daniels are excellent classes. I also am looking forward to taking Theory of Urban Design with Jonathan Barnett and Case Studies in Urban Design with Dean Gary Hack.

What are your career ambitions?
My career ambition is to promote good urban design of cities throughout the country and internationally as well. More specfically, I hope to work in a multi-disciplinary firm that focuses on urban design at some point when I have gained enough education and experience in the field to do so. I would eventually like to return to working at a Design Center and mediating between the city, community, developers and design firms to ensure fair and good design practices.