{"id":22481,"date":"2026-04-29T14:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T18:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/?p=22481"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:53:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:53:26","slug":"planning-students-receive-honors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/planning-students-receive-honors\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning Students Receive Honors From UF International Center"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-03d94984feeb13c85b4b714a0bbd8d66\">Planning Students Receive Honors From UF International Center<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1ad017c03f6bbd0c19033c2e74e576c0\">Three students from the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning were recently awarded Certificates of Outstanding Merit by the <a href=\"https:\/\/internationalcenter.ufl.edu\/about-ufic\/awards-and-opportunities\/international-student-awards\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/internationalcenter.ufl.edu\/about-ufic\/awards-and-opportunities\/international-student-awards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UF International Center (UFIC)<\/a>. Only six students from each college are eligible to be selected for this recognition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery .kb-gallery-type-grid.kb-gallery-id-22481_9c5611-65{margin:-5px;}.kb-gallery-type-grid.kb-gallery-id-22481_9c5611-65 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item{padding:5px;}.kb-gallery-id-22481_9c5611-65 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-22481_9c5611-65 .kb-slide-item .kb-gal-image-radius img{border-radius:20px 20px 20px 20px;;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-gallery-wrap-id-22481_9c5611-65 alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery\"><ul class=\"kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-grid kb-gallery-id-22481_9c5611-65 kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none\" data-image-filter=\"none\" data-item-selector=\".kadence-blocks-gallery-item\" data-lightbox-caption=\"true\" data-columns-xxl=\"3\" data-columns-xl=\"3\" data-columns-md=\"3\" data-columns-sm=\"2\" data-columns-xs=\"1\" data-columns-ss=\"1\"><li class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-square kb-has-image-ratio-square\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518.jpeg\" width=\"1023\" height=\"1023\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518.jpeg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518.jpeg\" data-id=\"22483\" class=\"wp-image-22483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518.jpeg 1023w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/IMG_9518-768x768.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 1023px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-square kb-has-image-ratio-square\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM-819x1024.jpeg\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM.jpeg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM.jpeg\" data-id=\"22485\" class=\"wp-image-22485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM-768x960.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM-1229x1536.jpeg 1229w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-21-at-12.27.44-AM.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\" tabindex=\"0\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-hide-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-square kb-has-image-ratio-square\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503.jpeg\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503.jpeg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503.jpeg\" data-id=\"22487\" class=\"wp-image-22487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1753624811503-768x768.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-3166435f8532ff0b7192808c0f16d81d\">Ph.D Candidate Mwansa Mwape of Zambia, Master&#8217;s of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) and Master\u2019s of Integrated Sustainable Development (M.I.S.D.) student Oluwasegun James of Nigeria, and Master\u2019s in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) student Xianyi Li of China received this recognition of excellence for success in their studies and for advancing the global citizenship mindset put forth by the Center.&nbsp;Xianyi Li also received the Outstanding Masters and Professional International Student Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-cd0cc320 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/1776107769752.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-22495\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" title=\"1776107769752\" loading=\"lazy\" role=\"img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-f5388c5b7e05afe8a36fecbecf35ced8\">Ph.D. Candidate Mwansa Mwape currently serves as a graduate teaching assistant and previously served as a lead project manager for the University of Lusaka, overseeing all construction and development projects across the campus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-8aa10dd856390b031c1e7d8987dd5202\">&#8220;I was thrilled and genuinely grateful to be a recipient of the Certificate of Outstanding Merit and to also be recognized as a nominee for the International Student Achievement Award by the College and UFIC,\u201d said Mwape. \u201cIt moved me more than I expected. It is a powerful reminder that dedicated work is impactful.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-50e1acdd6b56c713bba125492a07e819\">MURP\/M.I.S.D. student Oluwasegun James currently serves as a resilience intern with the <a href=\"https:\/\/flhousing.org\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/flhousing.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Florida Housing Coalition<\/a> and previously served as secretary of the department\u2019s Student Planning Association, alongside various planning and research positions both within and outside of UF.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-41b09b79e430ff5388ea0cbcf8fb8a81\">\u201cI am truly honored to receive the Certificate of Outstanding Merit from UFIC,\u201d said James. \u201cThis recognition reflects not only my efforts but also the support and opportunities I\u2019ve received through the University of Florida community. It motivates me to continue striving for excellence and contributing meaningfully to sustainable development and global engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-20675fdb86fb20c554d30b6058c787f7\">MURP student Xianyi Li previously interned for the Guangzhou Institute for Modern Urban Regeneration and Industrial Development, where she worked as a planning assistant, applying her classroom knowledge to real-world planning challenges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-ee5f6b19b3cd5a229f01b682606843e9\">\u201cReceiving this award is a tremendous honor,\u201d said Li. \u201cMy time here at UF so far has been incredibly rewarding and I\u2019m excited to see where my journey in planning takes me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning Students Receive Honors From UF International Center Three students from the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning were recently awarded Certificates of Outstanding Merit by the UF International Center (UFIC). Only six students from each college are eligible to be selected for this recognition.&nbsp; Ph.D Candidate Mwansa Mwape of Zambia, Master&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":22491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"wds_primary_category":108,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM.png",2520,846,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-300x101.png",300,101,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-768x258.png",768,258,true],"large":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-1024x344.png",1024,344,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-1536x516.png",1536,516,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-2048x688.png",2048,688,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>Planning Students Receive Honors From UF International Center Three students from the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning were recently awarded Certificates of Outstanding Merit by the UF International Center (UFIC). Only six students from each college are eligible to be selected for this recognition.&nbsp; Ph.D Candidate Mwansa Mwape of Zambia, Master&#8217;s of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) and Master\u2019s of Integrated Sustainable Development (M.I.S.D.) student Oluwasegun James of Nigeria, and Master\u2019s in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) student Xianyi Li of China received this recognition of excellence for success in their studies and for advancing the&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/category\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">news<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"ryanhelterhoffurp","url":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/author\/ryanhelterhoffurp\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM.png",2520,846,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-300x101.png",300,101,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-768x258.png",768,258,true],"large":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-1024x344.png",1024,344,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-1536x516.png",1536,516,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.19.32-PM-2048x688.png",2048,688,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"ryanhelterhoffurp","author_link":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/author\/ryanhelterhoffurp\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Planning Students Receive Honors From UF International Center Three students from the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning were recently awarded Certificates of Outstanding Merit by the UF International Center (UFIC). Only six students from each college are eligible to be selected for this recognition.&nbsp; Ph.D Candidate Mwansa Mwape of Zambia, Master&#8217;s&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcp.ufl.edu\/urp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}