Samuel Schultz ('13) pursues planning career out west
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EmailSamuel Schultz ('13), a recent MSU undergrad, has diversified his planning experience by applying his economic development background in Michigan to the viable environment of San Francisco.
By: SPDC Communications
From the downtrodden to the economically prosperous. Samuel Schultz ('13), a recent MSU undergrad, has diversified his planning experience by applying his economic development background in Michigan to the viable environment of San Francisco.
Schultz is a project research intern at the San Francisco Center for Economic Development. His focus is business retention and attraction to the City of San Francisco by highlighting six key sectors: IT and Software, Social and Digital Media, Life Sciences and Biotech, Environmental and Cleantech, and Professional Services and International Business.
"My internship has shown me the difference in the economic development approaches when it comes to a more prosperous city, such as San Francisco, compared to recovering areas, such as mid-Michigan or Detroit," Schultz said.
Specifically, Schultz researches the cost, funding, size of the spaces, economic impacts (jobs or additional housing units created), as well as updates on the status of projects regarding the planning, environmental or construction process.
"This experience will certainly have an impact on the direction I go with my professional career, or graduate studies, if I choose to pursue that option," Schultz said. "This experience has helped me continue to mold my desired path within the urban planning field, perhaps a more hands-on or a community and culturally interactive approach."
Schultz began his undergraduate education in Kinesiology but his affinity for architecture quickly attracted him to Urban Planning at the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction.
"Once I learned more about the ins-and-outs of planning I developed a passion for making cities smarter and more liveable," Schultz said.
While at MSU, Schultz was a member of the executive board for the Urban & Regional Planning Student Association (URPSA) and a volunteer for the Michigan Association of Planning Student Conference hosted at MSU. He also worked on the U.S. Economic Development Administration's University Center for Regional Economic Innovation at the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development.
Schultz graduated from the SPDC Urban & Regional Planning Program in May 2013 and hopes to stay in San Francisco at the conclusion of his internship at the end of the summer but is open to other opportunities.
"I am applying to jobs and other internships across the country to try to further develop my experience and hone in on what it is exactly that I want to do," Schultz said.
