{"id":146206,"date":"2025-11-04T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=146206"},"modified":"2025-11-11T08:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T14:14:11","slug":"community-service-work-grounds-urban-planning-student-in-her-career-pursuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/community-service-work-grounds-urban-planning-student-in-her-career-pursuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Community service work grounds urban planning student in her career pursuit"},"content":{"rendered":"
Elaina Rodriguez always had an interest in health care, but knew she didn\u2019t want to be a nurse or doctor. Instead, she saw herself using her bilingual English-Spanish skills in administrative work and followed that vision to a bachelor\u2019s degree in health care administration from Carroll University in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my undergrad during the Covid-19 pandemic, and there were a lot of conversations about the connection between health care and affordable housing. After all, access to health care depends largely on community design,\u201d she said. \u201cI spent a lot of time considering how public health affects community development.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the spark of what would lead Rodriguez to UW-Milwaukee’s Master of Urban Planning program. She was attracted to the curriculum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw that the program leaned heavily into learning how to engage with one\u2019s community to make sure everyone\u2019s voices are heard \u2014 I was interested,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez entered the MUP program as a Welford Sanders scholar, receiving a university scholarship that honors the late 51ÁÔÆæ faculty member who spearheaded the development of Milwaukee\u2019s Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.<\/p>\n