What is your name?   Laura Stroud

Where were you born and where do you call home?   I’m a born and bred North Carolinian. I grew up on the southeastern coast in Jacksonville, but I’ve been lucky enough to call other cities in the piedmont and mountains home as well.

What is something fun you like to do?   I like to explore Oregon’s great outdoors by raft, ski, or foot.

What are your big summer plans?   I plan to make it out to Eastern Oregon for the first time, and visit home in North Carolina.

In which graduate program are you enrolled? I’m enrolled in the Community and Regional Planning Program. My concentrations are land use planning and environmental planning.

What was a favorite UO class?   My favorite UO class was Water and the Built Environment which focused on how cities and utilities supply residents with water, sewage, and stormwater services.

What Community Planning Workshop (CPW)  project did you worked on during the academic year?   I worked on a project integrating hazard mitigation goals into the City of Madras’ comprehensive plan. We collected relevant information from current planning documents and public participation to create a list of goals and policies for the city to prioritize. I helped facilitate meetings and made a brochure to educate residents about the floodplain.

What is the most critical skill(s) you learned from being engaged in CPW this past year?   How to work dynamically within a team to synthesize information from various sources and produce a professional-quality planning document.

What about CPW made you smile  ? It was great to see how my fellow team members grew throughout the term, improving both strengths and weaknesses.

What is one of your ‘best-kept secrets’? There’s a foodcart called Philyaw’s Cookout that sometimes visits campus. The owner is an Eastern NC native. It’s the best place in Eugene to get true Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue! Don’t miss it!