January 5, 2007

Ohio State Student Receives National Planning Leadership Award

WASHINGTON, DC — Kevin Chastine is finishing up a graduate degree in city and regional planning from Ohio State University, but earning high academic marks is only one reason for his being selected as the first student in Ohio to receive the American Planning Association's (APA) National Planning Leadership Award for a Student Planner. Since enrolling at Ohio State, he has used all of his experiences to gain knowledge and understanding about planning principles and practice.

"Kevin understands an important part of going to graduate planning school is to participate in the community in a professional manner," said Carol Rhea, AICP, chair of the APA 2007 Awards Committee. "His well-rounded approach gives him an excellent foundation upon which to serve as a role model and build his career."

Chastine is one of two students who are receiving 2007 National Planning Leadership awards at APA's National Planning Conference during a special luncheon and awards ceremony Tuesday, April 17, in Philadelphia. In addition, the accomplishments of Chastine and the 13 other national awardees will be highlighted in the April issue of Planning magazine and on APA's website.

"I can't think of a better graduate student for this award," said Jennifer Cowley, AICP, an assistant professor at Ohio State University. "Kevin has an enormous amount of enthusiasm for the planning profession. One of the ways he shows this is in his eagerness to share what he is learning with others."

Through the inaugural Ohio State University Planners Day in School program Chastine and his colleagues taught sixth graders in Columbus Public Schools about city planning and led them in a neighborhood planning exercise. He also served as the lead facilitator in two sessions with two classes of developmentally challenged sixth grade students, who found Chastine has a good sense of humor.

Gaining hands-on experience has been an important part of Chastine's learning at Ohio State. First-year students rarely take any studio courses, yet Chastine participated in two. One of those studio classes focused on designing a site plan for a development proposal. The second studio involved working with residents in Henderson Point, Mississippi, to develop a plan for the community's town center, which had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

He's also worked as an intern with the City of Columbus and regularly volunteered in the community. Recognized by the city as an outstanding employee, the internship enabled him to work with neighborhood organizations and the City of Columbus's Historic Preservation and Planning Departments.

His work ethic has not gone unnoticed at school, where he received the City and Regional Planning Program's First Year Student Faculty Prize and the Outstanding First Year Graduate Student Award. And while it is very rare for a student to publish an article in the Ohio State University College of Engineering magazine, the Ohio State Engineer, Chastine has published two.

Last year Chastine was elected as president of the Ohio State Planning Student Association and has sketched out plans to have members be involved with Habitat for Humanity, as well as organizing interdisciplinary teams to enter the Columbus Zoo gingerbread house design competition.

Contacts

Jennifer Cowley, AICP, Ohio State University, 614-247-7479; Cowley.11@osu.edu
Kevin Chastine, Ohio State University, 615-218-1483; chastine.1@osu.edu
Denny Johnson, APA Public Affairs, 202-349-1006; djohnson@planning.org