How did you get interested in planning
When I was a kid I used to draw maps of imaginary cities and was able to entertain myself for hours on end gazing at city street maps. Little did I know at the time that some people get paid to do these kinds of things. For a while I thought I would go into architecture, but the multi-disciplinary approach and big-picture point of view of the planning profession pulled me into the field.

What kind of work experience do you have
After college I headed to Washington, DC, a wonderland of nonprofit jobs.I interned for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a local advocacy group, before joining the US Green Building Council, where I worked on membership, marketing and education programs and services, and became familiar with the mechanics of the building industry and learned a lot about LEED. Later on, I worked as a marketing coordinator for an architectural firm that specializes in multifamily housing and mixed-used development.The most rewarding experiences during my time between college and Penn, however, were volunteering and travelling.I took a few months off from office work to help construct a green community center at an organic farm in the US Virgin Islands through WWOOF (Google it!) and, just before arriving at Penn, I travelled in Eastern Europe and the Middle East to explore post-Soviet and Islamic cities and their nearest beaches.

Why did you choose Penn to study city planning
I chose Penn because it offers:

• a top program in urban design and real estate development within a design school
• opportunities to learn from and become involved in a large, dynamic, and fun city that ¡s in need of good planning
• design studios that travel abroad to study international planning issues
• an enthusiastic and accessible faculty, and, a fair amount of financial aid

What has been your favorite class so far
Professor Michael Larice is Urbanism and Planning Theory has been my favorite class so far. It's the kind of class where we argue about topics like Andres Duany and New Urbanism like locals argue about Donovan McNabb and the Eagles.

What are your career ambitions
I'd be thrilled to create urban designs for a community developer that specializes in environmentally sustainable and economically equitable urban development.