Northwest Section Awards Annual Scholarship

In 2018, the Northwest Section began offering its annual scholarship of $500 to support a Western Washington University (WWU) Student actively enrolled in the APA-accredited Huxley Urban Planning and Sustainable Development undergraduate program. We are now in the third year of this scholarship program. The intention is to strengthen our relationship with Western’s newly accredited program and to recognize the accomplishments of the students coming out of our section. It is part of the Northwest Section’s broader effort to bridge the gap between academics and professional planning here in our region.

This year’s winner is Zinta Lucans, a senior at WWU who hopes to pursue a career in advocacy planning. With this scholarship, we would like to recognize her for her dedication to promoting accessibility and equity in urban areas, work that is even more important now, 8 months into this global pandemic. She values education, cultural diversity, and sustainability, and is developing technical skills in design and GIS so that she can apply those values in the workplace. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the scholarship award presentation was made via Zoom. A recording will be available soon on the Northwest Section website at https://www.washington-apa.org/northwest-section

To date, the scholarship has been awarded to three excellent WWU Planning students. Their words speak to the impacts of the scholarship program on the professional development of award recipients and the broader benefit of leveraging partnerships with academic institutions to shape the future of our profession.

“Receiving the scholarship has opened a whole new set of doors for me in the planning field. As a senior in the Urban Planning program at Western, I am starting to think about my future after graduation. The connections I’ve made through APA NW, and still hope to make, guide me towards realizing a future career path as a planner. I am extremely enthusiastic about getting more involved in the planning community here in the PNW, specifically regarding affordable housing and green building, and I believe the resources now available to me through this scholarship will help motivate me towards fulfilling my greatest potential!”

– Zinta L. (2020)

“I was proud to be able to put this accomplishment on my resume to stand out from others. The award helped me pay for school fees for the year, textbooks and funding left over alleviated APA planning conference expenses!”

– Ella L. (2019)

 “This scholarship was a gateway for myself to succeed in my academic career. As a woman of color and child of immigrants, pursuing higher academics can have many obstacles, including financial problems. This scholarship allowed myself to help fund my academic interests and pursue a career within planning, environment justice, and community development. After graduating June 2020, I began my career as a project coordinator at the Filipino Community of Seattle, where I have been able to further my interest in creating resources for marginalized people in urban areas as well as assist in topics such as affordable housing, senior assistance, youth development, and immigration affairs.”

– Jaclyn S. (2018)