Emmanuel Salinas

ISP
 Table of Contents

Letter of Introduction- Page 3

Course Visual Map- Page 4

Fall 2017- Page 5

Winter 2018- Page 6

Spring 2018, Study Abroad- Page 7

Fall 2018- Page 8

Winter 2019- Page 9

Spring 2019- Page 10

Internship- Page 11

Senior Project- Page 12

Letter of Introduction
It is my educational goal to prepare myself as best as I can to enter a MUP program or enter an
urban planning profession. There are going to be several components to this preparation. Before I get to
these steps, I want to talk a little bit about my road that got me to where I am today. The first day I met
with a college advisor I was asked what field I was interested in. My mother interjected before I could
say that I wanted to study urban planning. She told my academic advisor that I wanted to be an
engineer. To make a long story shorter, I changed my academic program from civil engineering to
general studies my second quarter of college. I left my community college and took a two year break so
that I could work. I ended up becoming a restaurant manager. This had given me a lot of confidence, so I
decided to go back to my community college. I only wanted to go to UW or EWU to get bachelors
degree in urban planning. After rocking my sophomore year with my personal best grades, I got
accepted into the UW. It didnt quite hit me until I started autumn quarter. I realized that despite some
shortcomings in my life (dismal grades before college) I go into a competitive school. This was and is still
hard for me to grasp. It is something I must own. I am a UW student and I rightfully belong here!

Lets get back to my plan on preparing myself for a MUP program. First and foremost, I plan on
taking the classes that best interest me. These will include CEP core classes, an architectural study
abroad in Nepal, a sociology class and some urban planning classes. As a part of this component I plan
on performing well in the classroom and develop a professional relationship with each of my instructors.
A second component is to join extracurricular activities that will help me become an organizer and
eventually, a leader. This can be at a volunteer organization or a student run organization. I want
potential MUP programs to see that not only I can learn and demonstrate knowledge from the
classroom, but that I can also help run and lead organizations. I am already on track to be a part of the
UW Leaders organization. I hope to be a mentor in this program and help students who may have been
in similar shoes that I have been in. My last component of my preparation is to gain work and field
experience. I hope to accomplish this by interning with an organization I just recently job shadowed,
King County Metro. Competitive MUP programs are selective with their applicants and tend to base
their decisions on those with some work or volunteer experience.

Why do I want to be in a MUP program so bad? I simply want to an urban planner. I want to
influence the way cities grow and function. To me a city is more than a geographic area tied by political
boundaries. A city to me is an urban area that functions as system (i.e. like a human body) that is
constantly growing and needs to be managed correctly. I believe a MUP program will adequately give
me the tools I will need to be competent in the field of urban planning. Whether I work as an urban
planner or not, I want to make a significant and positive impact in my environment. This could be as
simple as inspiring people who would otherwise treat a college education as waste of time or something
that only privileged people attend.
Autumn 2017

CEP 301- Idea of a community

In this class, we were asked on the first day what community meant. I answered with a pretty generic
definition. If I could go back on answer that, I would say community is system (like a human body) where
every member is important for the wellbeing of the community. We learned the importance of
specialization in a career leads to the growth of a community. I personally enjoyed the readings on
rebellion. It gives a sense that authority may not always be right.

HSTEU 234- History of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany

This was my diversity course. Although not directly related to urban planning, this course gives me an
overview of the various ethnic and asocial groups that were treated horribly by the Nazi regime. This
class demonstrates how authority can get out of hand and consolidate too much power.

CEP 400- Governance

In governance I got to experience how to run an organization. I am in outreach and admissions, where
we figure ways to attract more potential ceptsers (people in our major). One of my tasks was to visit
college classes and let students in similar fields (geography) know about our major. This was challenging
and rewarding at the same time because I had to get out of my comfort zone and speak to a classroom.
Speaking in front of an audience is something I want to get comfortable with. I hope to develop
leadership skills in future quarters during governance.

CEP 300- Fall Retreat

During my fall retreat I got know the people in my major a lot more. It was a fun experience, as I never
got spend the night in a cabin before. One of our highlights was the talent show. However, the more
meaningful activity we did was answer to ourselves why we were going to college. I answered to
empower ourselves.
Winter 2018

CEP 302- Environmental Response

I hope to learn ways I can effectively communicate to the members of my community on the importance
of environmental stewardship. I also want to see what our leaders our doing to combat some of the
various environmental problems we face today.

SOC 316- Introduction to Sociological theory

In this class I hope to understand the foundation of sociology. I believe that in understanding social
theories I can better understand the different interactions and relations within a community.

CEP 300- Governance

In this quarter we will be conducting interviews for CEP applicants, as well as addressing any questions
they will have. My committee will have an open house on January 31st, where we will have one final
opportunity to let prospective students know more about our major.
Spring 2018

In this quarter I will be travelling abroad to Nepal and study landscape architecture. I want to see how
other communities interact and organize themselves. This will be my first time travelling outside my
time zone, so this will be quite an experience. Here is a list of my courses:

LARC 702-International Design Activism

In this course I will work with local students to design and build a project. During this process I will learn
how to work with people of different backgrounds to achieve a common goal.

LARC 498- Culture and Ecology

In this course I will understand the Nepali context on urban design (i.e. why build at 4,600 ft. high?). I
will also learn the culture and history of Nepal.
Fall 2018

CEP 460- Planning in Context

I hope to get better informed on how planning policies affect various social groups.

URBDP 300- Introduction to Urban Planning

I want to study the evolution urban planning in the United States.

URBDP 404- Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

In this course I want to raise my technical literacy and I want to learn to make maps for specific
purposes.
Winter 2019

CEP 461- Ethics and Identity

I hope to learn about the ethics and code of conduct that planners and community leaders go by.

URBDP 450- Introduction to Land Use, Growth Management, and Environmental Planning

I hope to learn more about transit oriented development in this course.

URBDP 451- Housing

In this course I want to learn about the most effective housing policies that create livable communities.

URBDP 466- Infrastructure and Community Facilities

In this course I hope to learn how various agencies collaborate on implementation of different projects
within the same area.
Spring 2019

CEP 462- Community and Environment

In this course I hope to combine everything I have learned in previous core classes and acknowledge
what it I want out of a community.

URBDP 500- Survey of Urban Planning

I hope to learn major procedures used by urban planners.

Internship

After recently job shadowing transportation planners at King County Metro, I have
acknowledged this will be an internship I would want to pursue. Any transportation agency would
suffice, but I would prefer Metro or Sound Transit. Specifically, I want to work with some the route and
station planners. I want to help make decisions on where transit routes will go and how often stations
are spaced.
Senior Project

For my senior project I hope to get involved in one of Sound Transits transit oriented development
projects. I understand that housing and retail around light rail stations are typically built by the private
sector. However, the government and Sound Transit have a huge say on what type of development will
occur near stations. Right now, ST is building two lines to Northgate and Redmond. I would prefer to get
involved with one of the north link stations and their TOD.