A 2009 Success Story at Portland State University (PSU)

Thea interned with the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning where she worked on a gentrification project with Dr. Karen Gibson and a First Stop project with Dr. Barry Messer, which were arranged by her on-site advisor Arlene Brockel. Arlene is the Finance & Operations Assistant to the Director at the school and was very pleased with Thea's performance.

Dr. Gibson summarizes her experience with Thea by stating, "Thea was an exemplar of self-initiation, responsibility and creativity; a model of what I would look for in a prospective student with our School and College. If Thea is an indication of the quality of other interns in the Step it Up Program, I think we would be well served by continuing an active role in this program for the future and would enthusiastically endorse any support we may be able to provide." (October 2009)

Dr. Messer had extensive projects for Thea to work on: "Thea conducted a literature review on gentrification. She gathered articles and wrote short summaries from their abstracts and conclusions. She worked very rapidly and efficiently. She took initiative. I was very impressed with her performance." Dr. Messer evaluated Thea's performance by sharing, "I found Thea to be an exceptionally capable and responsible student who was very motivated to learn and gain experience in the field. She first worked with me on First Stop Portland and was immediately prepared to be a active participant as student ambassador for the program. She prepared a program guide for a visiting delegation from Japan and even helped with the translation of the guide in Japanese. She facilitated the visit of the delegation and proved to an outstanding ambassador; attending to both the logistics of the visit as well as engaging with the delegates. In addition to First Stop Portland, Thea assisted me with some researching and preparing some background information for a Sustainability Camp the College is looking to sponsor for area K-12 students. Thea not only provided excellent support in this research she proved to be very helpful in 'brainstorming' ideas on how to best plan for this program. She continues to this date in helping us establish key contacts with the schools in planning for this program. She has initiated a meeting with District staff and has provided internal support within Grant High School to be a participant in the planning for the Camp. I look forward to her continued role and support with this effort." (October 2009)