By Wes McRae | September 26, 2025

"There's nothing like the Georgia Tech network," said Caroline Evans (MCP 1999), at the recent reception hosted by the School of City and Regional Planning and the Georgia Planning Association (GPA). "I look around and see faces that I went to school with and still work with."

Jennifer Ball (BS Arch. 1994, MCP 2001) agreed: "It's a friendly, connected community that wants to help new students. Reflecting back on this event when I was a first year in the planning program, I think it really built confidence: 'These alumni have jobs, and they cared enough to show back up.'"

Ball sees the program and the professional network as critical to Georgia's future. "I think of it as Georgia's secret sauce, the behind-the-scenes impact of learning and applying this trade in the over 500 municipalities in Georgia. If we were to do a census of how many of those folks have Georgia Tech degrees, it would be mind-blowing."

"The Institute's mission of 'Progress and Service,' this is it! So it's exciting to see the next generation who are going to be living out that mission for the entire Institute."

The School and the GPA maintain close ties to foster this network. "Partnering with the GPA (our local American Planning Association chapter) provides students with valuable opportunities to learn from practitioners, expand their professional networks, and gain insights into the planning field," said Gulsah Akar, chair of the School. "Many GPA members are School alumni, making their involvement especially meaningful as students can see firsthand the accomplishments of those who once stood where they are today."

Kristen Wescott, AICP, GPA president, is one of the program's alumni, earning her Master of City Planning in 1999. "To me, it's natural to mix the practitioners with the students. In general, planners think differently. It's reassuring to people starting in this world that there are mature adults who can think and speak to these issues that they're really passionate about."

Alumni provided perspective on the strengths of the School's programs. "I think there's something to be said about the style of learning you get in this program, that's less about how to solve a problem, but more about how to think about solving a problem," Evans said. "So it prepares you really well to take on anything."

"It's a very multidisciplinary study, even though we specialize into our interest area," Wescott agreed.  Another unique and evolving thing about this program is the analytics. Planners need to have the ability to get through the information, analyze it, and communicate so it makes sense."

Wescott emphasized the program's practical connection to the community. "The studios have a lot of hands-on learning, where students are invited by the City of Atlanta or other organizations to study real problems and suggest approaches for dealing with it. So that's pretty great."

"I love my job. I love what I learned here," Ball said. " I love how I've been able to apply it here in the City of Atlanta."

"It's a pretty amazing opportunity to learn about this field and apply our trade in a city that I care about and am excited to be part of its future."