Meet our Students: Hagen Hammons / Community and Regional Planning

What city, region, state do you call home?

Amite, Louisiana (born and raised), but Pacific North-westerner for 6 years now

In which graduate program are you enrolled?

Community and Regional Planning

What is your area of concentration?

My area of concentration is Sustainable Land Use & The Built Environment. I also have an interest in Active Transportation, and am starting to do research on my exit project for next year on the concept of Trail Oriented Development (TrOD) oriented to bicycle infrastructure, specifically multi-use trails.

What will you be doing for the Community Service Center (CSC)?

I will be working on the Emergency Management Strategic Plans for Douglas and Coos Counties for the Community Service Center. This will be a pilot project to establish long range goals for each counties jurisdictions that will result in a lessons learned summary for other emergency management programs to follow.

How does your involvement with the Community Service Center relate to or inform your graduate studies?

My involvement as a whole with CSC will help me to grow professionally in several different aspects which will include: Working more fluently in a team environment. Valuing better communication in team and public settings. Improving better technical and clearer writing skills. Engaging better with the public in presentation and one on one talking points. This project is also out of my comfort zone, which is why I picked it, to get experience in a wide array of the profession of planning and in community engagement.

What can you say about the value of your Community Service Center experience?

I can tell that my CSC experience will be, even though it is in the beginning stages, one of the highlights of my graduate school education.

What outcome are you hoping for when your project ends?
I am hoping to produce a document and set standards that the jurisdictions I am working for can use for years to come. I’m also looking to make meaningful connections not only with my group and graduate school peers, but in the public realm.

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)