URP Student Internships
Summer 2022
July 20, 2022
This summer our Master of Urban and Regional Planning students embarked on new professional journeys in completing their internship requirements. Students used the internship course, URP 6941, alongside professional planning practice to gain new perspectives of planning techniques and professionalism.
The URP Department is proud to have students around the country and world working to make their communities better places to live. Check out the following examples of what our students were up to this summer:
Angie Castrillon
City of Raleigh, NC
Planning & Development Department, Historic Preservation
Angie is a first-year MURP student and works as an intern for Raleigh, North Carolina’s historic preservation unit. This summer her projects include supporting community engagement for the Black History and Heritage 1945-1975 Architectural Survey, and the LGBTQIA+ Historic Context Study. Both are efforts to make historic preservation more equitable and inclusive. In addition, Angie will attend the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions national conference, FORUM, focusing on issues facing local historic preservation boards and commissions.
Evan Claessens
City of Venice,FL
Planning & Zoning
Evan Claessens is an incoming Urban Planning student and served as a planning intern for the Venice planning and zoning department, helping the city implement new land development regulations. In addition, Evan is researching strategies that similar municipalities have utilized to increase the attractiveness of their downtowns.
Carson Crockett
George F. Young, Inc.
Carson is a first-year student and his internship is with George F. Young, Inc., a civil engineering and land surveying firm with offices throughout the sunshine state. Although the position focuses on land use and zoning, he has also helped with conceptual site plans, public policy, landscaping, comprehensive planning, and many other projects. This position affords Carson with the ability to work with others in the industry that are in Tampa Bay area.
Lauren Finn
HRG, Inc.
Lauren is a second-year student and intern with Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. is a nationally-ranked design firm that focuses on civil engineering, surveying, and environmental services with offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Lauren works on two Parks, Recreation, and Outdoor Space (PROS) plans as well as a comprehensive plan. This position allows Lauren the opportunity to learn more about storm water management and other specific sections of PROS and comprehensive plans.
Rachel Griffith
Old Dominion University
Rachel Griffith is a second-year planning student and is completing internship credits with Old Dominion University’s (ODU’s) Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) sustainability team. ODU collects data on sustainability implementation throughout campus programs, procedures, maintenance, management and building expansion. Rachel works with campus professors and the university’s office of Risk Management, Safety, and Facilities Management departments to collect necessary data and implement these new sustainability programs.
Ilan Gritzman
D.C. Department of Transportation
Ilan Gritzman is a second-year student and interns for the Washington, D.C. Department of Transportation. As a project portal intern, Ilan uses various ArcGIS Online apps to show geospatial data on different transportation projects in Washington D.C. These widgets display interactive traffic and intersection data within the district, and allow planners and users a medium to offer constructive feedback. Ilan also works on summarizing the terms and conditions for local permit requirements for personal delivery services (e.g. robotic food and beverage deliveries).
Maggie Heigl
Amtrak; Planning, Commercial Services & Sustainability
Maggie Heigl is a Sustainability and Built Environment 4+1 student and planning intern for Amtrak’s Planning, Commercial Services, and Sustainability Team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Maggie’s position focuses on mapping Amtrak’s climate vulnerability so the corporation can understand how projected climate scenarios affect its assets and operations. This, in turn, allows Amtrak to better plan for the future and build resiliency into its operations.
Rama Hiba
Neighborhood Housing & Development Corporation
Rama Hiba is a third-year Urban and Regional Planning student and Data Analyst Intern with the Gainesville Neighborhood Housing and Development Corporation, a non-profit serving Alachua, Levy, and Marion Counties. Rama is working to automate the process that involves the corporation’s clients reports, which will reduce the time to write reports. Rama is also creating a map that pinpoints the location of the corporation’s clients, helping to determine if there are any patterns of who use their services.
Tate Johnson
Kimley-Horn
Tate is a working with Kimley-Horn planning, design, and engineering consultants in their Fort Lauderdale office as a transportation planning intern. Tate is a second-year student and is involved in a variety of projects this summer. The position gives Tate exposure to the interdisciplinary nature of planning in a collaborative office environment while gaining field experience.
James Phillips
Citrus Connection
James is a second-year student in the MURP online program working with Citrus Connection in Lakeland, Florida. Citrus Connection is the public transit agency for Lakeland and Polk County, FL. James has the unique opportunity of learning from the senior planner gearing up for retirement, a role that he will take over once the senior planner steps away. James will be building the department from the ground up while learning all of the federal and state reporting that comes with transit planning.
Milena Sanabria
Pontificia Universidad Catolica De Chile, Geographic Institute
Milena is a second-year planning student in the on-campus MURP program and is working virtually with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica De Chile, Geographic Institute as a technician. Milena is working with the Geographic Institute to update the land use map of the Chillan Basin using Landsat image classification. In addition, she supports the Antofagasta-Mejillones land use change modeling document using IDRISI and Dinamica EGO software for raster file management.
Jacob Stout
City of Starke, FL
Jacob is a second-year student in the on-campus MURP program and is working with the City of Starke, FL as it works to update its community redevelopment area plan. The city is seeking a Community Planning Technical Assistance grant from the state of Florida and requires socioeconomic data for the proposed area. Jacob’s role involves collecting the required data from the US Census, Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, and Bureau of Economic and Business Research, and incorporating the data into sections of the draft redevelopment area plan that will be submitted to the state in the fall for review.
Ian Wickstead
Dutchess County, NY
Department of Planning & Development
Ian is a second-year MURP online student and a planning intern for the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development in Poughkeepsie, NY. He has completed assessments for the implementation of complete streets and bicycle-pedestrian infrastructure in different towns in the county, updated the Council’s Public Participation Plan, produced charts and infographics for a regional freight plan, and performed GIS work and photography for the county’s parks and trails apps.
Haley Wilson
City of Norfolk, VA
Planning Department
Haley is a first-year student in the MURP online program and is an associate city planner for the City of Norfolk, Virginia. She obtained the role after working with the city as a planning intern for two months earlier this year. As an associate planner, Haley approves business zoning licenses and other building permits and enjoys helping members of the Norfolk community.
Trevor Withrow
Davey Resource Group
Trevor is a second-year student and works with Davey Resource Group, which provides a full range of natural resource and utility consulting services to commercial residential and municipal markets in San Diego, California. Trevor is a tree planting program coordination intern, and works to coordinate the planting of hundreds of trees in underrepresented neighborhoods. The city has dedicated itself to watering the new trees for three years at no cost to the residents.