Now a Communications and Outreach intern at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and a Research KnowledgeBase intern at the American Planning Association, Conner has transitioned from community service to public service. He has also made a shift in his education, complementing his bachelor’s in English Literature with a master’s degree in Sustainable Urban Development from DePaul.
“My path was this arc of volunteerism to public service and now finding this niche of sustainability municipal work,” he says. “Insofar as sustainable urban development, for me, I’ve found it to be the most satisfying way of addressing structural issues in a way that’s sustainable and long term. My experience in the nonprofit world wasn’t personally or professionally fulfilling in the ways I wanted it to be, but when I got interested in urban planning, I found it quite satisfying.”