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San Jose State University Student Receives National Planning Leadership Award for a Student Planner
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Planning Association (APA) has selected San Jose State University graduate student Emilia Mendoza as recipient of the 2009 National Planning Leadership Award for a Student Planner. Mendoza was honored for her exceptional service to her fellow students, nonprofit organizations, and her community. Only one graduate student is recognized annually.
“Emilia Mendoza has shown outstanding leadership. Her contributions to the planning profession in general, and to the planning students in particular, is stellar,” said Carol Rhea, aicp, Chair, 2009 National Planning Awards Jury. “She has a bright future ahead of her, and so do the communities in which she’ll live and serve.”
Mendoza’s accomplishments run far and wide. Her efforts include:
§ Serving on the Steering Committee of CommUniverCity San Jose – a partnership between the City of San Jose, San Jose State University, and the Five Wounds/BrookWood Terrace (FWBT) Community in San Jose that plans and helps implement programs and policies for improving the quality of life in the FWBT neighborhood.
§ Bringing the urban planning process to high school students. She and other students built models of the proposed Alum Rock BART plaza, and brought the models to the high school students for them to brainstorm about potential BART plaza sites and configurations. She taught students how urban planners think about the built environment, and encouraged students to pursue urban planning professions. She recently presented experiences of her involvement with the high school students at a conference for teachers on service-learning.
§ Serving as the student representative of the Urban Planning Coalition, part of the university’s Urban and Regional Planning Department. In this role, Mendoza helped organize the Guest Speaker Series, the biggest event organized by the coalition.
§ Taking an active role on the organizing committee for the APA California chapter conference. She recruited student volunteers, organized student scholarships for the Diversity Summit, and helped with logistics involving volunteers.
§ Advocating for student interests as the Student Representative for the Northern Section, California Chapter of the American Planning Association. Mendoza was the main contact and voice for the APA chapter regarding events and opportunities benefiting students.
And Mendoza did all this while maintaining an excellent academic record as a graduate student in the Master of Urban Planning program at San Jose State University.
“She is a self-starter, very conscientious of each project’s specific requirements and constraints, and a team player with excellent interpersonal skills,” said Shishir Mathur, associate professor at San Jose State University, Urban and Regional Planning Department, who taught Mendoza. “She is very strong in finding, synthesizing and presenting information in a way that is audience-sensitive.”
Mendoza’s outstanding work has been recognized repeatedly. She was honored with a Distinguished Leadership, Student Planner Award from both the Northern California Section of the California Chapter, American Planning Association, and the California Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Summing up the thoughts of many at San Jose State University, Professor Michael Pogodzinski, noted, “I think Emy Mendoza is an outstanding student in urban planning, and has bright promise as a professional planner.”
Mendoza will receive her award at a special luncheon celebration during APA’s National Planning Conference in Minneapolis on April 28, 2009. She also will be featured in an upcoming issue of Planning magazine, APA’s flagship publication.
For a list of all of the APA 2009 National Planning Award recipients, visit www.planning.org/awards/2009. APA’s national awards program, the profession’s highest honor, is a proud tradition established more than 50 years ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues.
The American Planning Association and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning -- physical, economic and social -- so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. Members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill.. For more information, visit its website at www.planning.org.
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