Mia Chapman, LUS ’23
Eviction Prevention and Policy Researcher
National League of Cities
Washington, D.C
MUP Candidate
University of Southern California
Contact Mia
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How LUS has impacted your post-grad experience
My LUS degree has helped me greatly, especially as I start my Master of Urban Planning. While I am learning new material in my master’s program, the foundational planning knowledge gained through the LUS degree has put me at a huge advantage in grad school. My topical knowledge through LUS classes also helped during the internship search, because many undergraduates don’t have planning experience, knowledge, or degrees. If you are interested in pursuing an internship, job, or further education in any sector related to urban planning, the LUS degree will be a big leg-up. Some of the specific courses I’ve taken which I think have been particularly important were The History of American Planning, Site Planning, Welcome to Your Urban Future, and the GIS requirements.
Memorable experiences or projects at UW-Madison
A project I look back on fondly now is my final project in LA677 Historic and Cultural Preservation course, where I conducted a historical analysis of the Little Tokyo neighborhood in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, I now live in Little Tokyo and have been doing a similar historical research capstone of the neighborhood through one of my graduate courses. Also, the hard skills gained through the GIS classes, especially with a planning context, have been very helpful in graduate school. Of course, my involvement with WUPA leadership during my senior year of college is something I look back very fondly on, and now that I am in a larger planning department, is a tight-knit community that I miss.
Professional or personal successes/achievements
While I was still working as an intern at the National League of Cities, the biggest professional milestone was being listed as a co-author of the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook, which was a policy playbook NLC published in collaboration with the American Planning Association. This playbook has massive reach, providing policy recommendations to local and state governments nationwide, and also being used to advocate for more robust housing policy in congress and other federal entities. Additionally, through my application process to graduate school, I was traversing unfamiliar territory, but was extremely fortunate to receive a full-tuition fellowship to USC. Big thanks to all of the amazing faculty and admin of DPLA for supporting me through my undergrad, writing me amazing letters of recommendation, and always being in my corner even after I graduated.
Advice for current LUS students
My advice would simply be: if you want to stand out and succeed, talk to your professors and be involved in WUPA. I spent half my time at UW barely knowing any of my LUS professors and never stepping foot inside Music Hall. It was only when I made a concerted effort to build relationships with my professors, go out of my way to go to office hours and ask faculty for advice, and become WUPA president that I really felt “at home” in the LUS program. As the program has grown and resources have become more plentiful, I hope there are even more chances for you all to become involved! However, all of the faculty and staff at DPLA and the LUS program are extremely kind people who want nothing more than the success of students. Try to break out of your bubble and make meaningful connections with your peers and professors, and you’ll be surprised at how much success you find.