Urban Planning Graduation Day
My mentors made sure it happened.
I graduated from UCLA eighteen years ago today, June 17, 2005, with an M.A. in Urban Planning. There are many reasons why this almost didn’t happen.
I was a First Gen student — the first in my family to go to graduate school and only the third to attend college. I was somewhat prepared at best. The pressure was high. My confidence, low. And I felt the weight of the neighborhood on my shoulders.
The MAUP (now MURP) program was nurturing, the faculty was supportive, and so were my fellow urban planning students, but I still felt tormenting anxiety the whole time. Academia is isolating. The stress was different. I couldn’t place it. Years later, I learned the term imposter syndrome.
I nearly dropped out of the MAUP program five times. The first time was halfway through my first quarter. My self-doubt was merciless.
But I didn’t drop out.
I got through graduate school with the help of two mentors: Professor Edward W. Soja and Professor Jackie Leavitt. They assured me I belonged at UCLA Urban Planning. And they pushed my thinking and writing beyond perceived limits. The work I did in their classes would help me create Embedded Planning praxis 13 years later. Now both Ed and Jackie rest in power, and mentees like me carry the torch.
I’m sharing this story for the incoming undergrad and graduate planners navigating this momentous next chapter. It’s difficult if you feel alone. Worse if you feel out of place. Know that I’m here for you. I serve as a mentor to the next generation so folks coming up know someone’s got their back, as my mentors had mine. You are not alone. If you need anything, please reach out.
An early version of this story appeared on my Instagram in 2020.
