What excites me about UTech is that there are so many opportunities to elevate the lives of everyone in the city, not just those with the most resources.
Hometown
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Current City
Ann Arbor, MI
Why did you choose Taubman College’s new program in Urban Technology?
I don’t remember who mentioned it first in the program, but someone talked about the idea of getting a job or doing something that we can’t describe right now and/or doesn’t fully exist yet; the prospect of that really excites me. I know that I want to interact with the built environment in some way, and coming at it from this technological and design-orientated view of UTech sounded like the best option for me.
What excites you about urban technology as a field?
I came from a city where some neighborhoods feel locked in time and others feel like they are on the technological forefront. What excites me about UTech is that there are so many opportunities to elevate the lives of everyone in the city, not just those with the most resources.
What is your favorite city and why?
I would have to go with Venice Italy. To state the obvious, it’s a city that has evolved without cars. It’s refreshing to see city life be operated in such a different way and at a human scale. It also has a humongous depth of history and culture to boot.
The new Urban Technology program is unique, with first-year students beginning classes in January. How are you spending your time this fall?
I got to see some family in Switzerland, which was nice. But I spent most of my time at an internship with an EV charger installation company in Los Angeles. I was mostly doing data management for the network operations/stability team, but helped out in sales and customer service as well. It gave me great insight into the EV industry, where are its faults and where is it going.
What are you most looking forward to at Michigan?
It sounds cheesy, but I look forward to meeting the cohort and other people on campus. They seem like such a dynamic group that will be a blast to work and learn with for the next 4 years.