Ana Garate Plans to Give Back to Her Community in Mexicali
During her time in the MCP program, Garate completed an internship in transportation planning, where she gained a deeper understanding of how transportation issues are addressed through each planning stage, from data collection through public outreach and mapping. Garate was also awarded multiple scholarships, including the International Peace Scholarship from P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Marco G. Walshok Graduate Endowed Scholarship in Public Affairs, the Cognella Graduate Scholarship in Public Affairs, and the John Fowler Graduate Endowed Scholarship in Public Administration. Additionally, she served as Vice President of the City Planning Association at SDSU.
“The biggest challenge for me to overcome was completing my studies in a different country than mine. Although discovering how another city works was very interesting, learning from a different culture proved to be difficult in my classes, especially those courses related to regulations, laws, and history,” shared Garate. “I felt like I was learning something new every day. I am grateful and pleased with this accomplishment. It increased my confidence by making me more adaptable and resilient. It helped me grow both personally and professionally.”
Garate hopes to return to her hometown of Mexicali, Mexico and have a positive influence on her community.
“To achieve that, I am trying to have as many experiences as I can, looking at other cities and learning some of the best planning practices. The Master of City Planning has provided me with a set of skills that will help my career development. All my classes, including the Capstone project, internship, and work as a research assistant, gave me a closer look at how urban and regional issues should be addressed. This experience made me see urban problems from a different angle, taking into account many dimensions such as design, environment, economy, society, and equity, among others.”
The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.