Alumni Spotlight
McKayla Andrus '23 recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a major in Environmental Studies. She has always been in awe of people and the nature around her. This passion has brought her to environments where she is continuously learning how to care for the earth as well as nearby communities.
During her time at LMU, she interned at Waves of Recovery, a surf therapy non-profit in Manhattan Beach that specializes in mental health and addiction. Now, she works with ALMA Backyard Farms, a non-profit urban farm based in Compton. As Program Coordinator at ALMA, she utilizes urban agriculture to inspire kids with a love for learning, the outdoors, and well-being.
Alumni Spotlight
Major: Urban Studies and Sociology
Next Step: UCLA's Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning
Daria Young '22, an Urban Studies and Sociology double major, is preparing to attend UCLA’s graduate program in urban planning. For Young, this has been a long time coming. She has always been drawn to planning, and more specifically to the development of affordable housing in Los Angeles. While Young chose LMU in part because of its urban studies program, she was also drawn to its emphasis on Ignatian values, its small class sizes, and commitment to educating the whole person. “Since I first stepped foot onto campus, I instantly felt a sense of community and belonging,” said Young.
As Young delved into her urban studies coursework she became increasingly interested in sociology and its importance to her as an engaged citizen and future planner. She added it as a second major, because it “allows one to understand social groups and why society functions in the ways that it does,” and offers “a deeper understanding of society that will be beneficial in my future career.” Young sees the two majors intersecting in many important ways. “While urban studies provides a foundation for planning practice and how city government works, sociology is very complimentary in helping one understand the social groups that you are working with.” Ultimately, Young has learned that “to be a good planner you do not make the choices for the city, but instead ask the various groups in the city what they need and how you can help.”
While Young is thankful for all the professors she has had throughout her time at LMU, she is particularly thankful for Nathan Sessoms, senior lecturer of sociology. “He has been a great mentor taking time to teach me more about equitable planning and how to be an active member and listener in communities.” Pete Hoffman, chair of the LMU Urban and Environmental Studies Department, has also always been encouraging and open to offering advice and guidance.
When considering what advice she would impart to current BCLA students, Young is a big proponent of exploring interests through electives. Young’s impressive academic resume includes a minor in theological studies. She added it after taking a theology elective on Judaism and has since discovered a great interest in studying world religions.
Beyond the classroom, Young pursued an internship in the City of Orange’s Community Development/Urban Planning Department. Although she was nervous, she quickly became more comfortable after taking time to look back at her class notes from Professor Hoffman’s Urban World and Urban Planning courses. “I realized I already knew how to do a lot of the projects because I had built strong foundational skills at LMU,” said Young. “I was also surprised by how much of my sociology knowledge helped me in making choices on housing and other projects. When doing simple tasks such as approving a home renovation, I did so by trying to understand the communities I was working with, and how my choices may impact them.”
Young’s internship with the City of Orange assured her that she is pursuing the right career path and affirmed her decision to pursue further education. She also had an internship mentor who always made sure to use an equitable approach in planning, an approach that Young values and was a major selling point of UCLA’s program. In the future, she hopes to work for a city or non-profit organization where she can continue her quest to improve the affordable housing stock in L.A.
Alumni Spotlight
Arturo Jacobo '20, has designs to create more equity for the underrepresented -- one city at a time. The San Diego native plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, come fall, with the ultimate goal of one day working at the intersection of transportation planning and policy, urban design, and the environment.
The proud son of a civil engineer, Arturo says that he has always had a deep interest in cities and the intricacies behind their design and sociopolitical gears -- a fascination his time on the bluff further reinforced via his coursework in the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts.
“My LMU experience and the activities I engaged myself in provided me with real direction,” Arturo, who earned a baccalaureate degree in Urban Studies, said. “Through the relationships I formed with professors, taking part in service pursuits, and bonding with my peers, I developed a network of people who not only supported me, but wanted me to succeed.”
He added that classes in his major, such as “Sustainable Cities” and “Metropolitan Los Angeles,” provided him a foundational understanding of urban planning and insight into present-day inequities, which he then built upon via an internship with the California Department of Transportation – San Diego.
“My internship exposed me to realities and complexities of transportation planning in Southern California,” Arturo said. “Moreover, this experience was extremely helpful in developing my understanding of the industry I intend to enter, as well as providing me with the opportunity to expand my professional network.”
Drawn to LMU as a transfer student after spending a year at Fordham University in New York, Arturo says that he was impressed by Loyola Marymount University’s Jesuit mission, its size, location -- and the added benefit of his sister once an LMU Lion.
“I wanted to attend a school that not only had an Urban Studies program,” Arturo said, “but one that also prioritized a commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion -- and I found that on the bluff.”
In addition to his academic pursuits, Arturo was actively involved on LMU’s student life scene, participating in Sursum Corda service organization, and as a member of Resilience at LMU, a club that advocates for immigrant rights and seeks to create a supportive network for undocumented students and campus allies.
As for what advice he has for future LMU Lions?
“Give yourself the time and space to join student clubs and organizations that speak to your interests and passions,” Arturo said. “And perhaps most importantly, develop relationships with your professors and take advantage of the university’s resources – both are invaluable.”
Alumni Spotlight
That is Narek Mkrtoumian’s ('15) advice to liberal arts students, and he would know. The urban studies alumnu took on multiple internships and research opportunities as a student, which together prepared him to land a great job in his field.
As a student, Mkrtoumian held urban planning internships for both the City of Burbank and the City of Glendale, opportunities that helped him apply GIS mapping and research skills in the real world. On campus, he worked as the GIS and Research Assistant for the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, where he helped develop exit polls for California’s 2014 gubernatorial election. He also researched transportation access at the Center for the Study of LA, a project that he presented at LMU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Through his work at the Center for the Study of Los Angeles, he was introduced to Beacon Economics, an economics research consultancy that hired him after graduation.
Mkrtoumian now works as the Business Development Manager for Beacon Economics and is a Riordan Institute Fellow with the Southern California Leadership Network and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
“Primarily, urban studies has given me a strong fundamental understanding of how local and statewide government organizations function and how to collaborate with them from the private consulting and non-profit side of things,” he said. “I credit urban studies at LMU for making me an active member of my community and for making me a confident advocate on behalf of others in Los Angeles.”
Even though Mkrtoumian says his work can be dry at times, he doesn’t let that stop him from enjoying his career. At his job, he tries to learn something new every day, a value he says he learned at LMU.
“I think that love of knowledge and the ability to share that knowledge with others are skills uniquely tied to a liberal arts education at LMU,” he said.
Alumni Spotlight
Taylor Kay '15 graduated magna cum laude with a major in Urban Studies. While she was at LMU, Taylor served as the tour guide coordinator for the Office of Admissions, supervising more than 30 student guides who worked with Taylor to introduce the campus to future students and their parents, visiting dignitaries and officials, and friends of the University.
Committed to improving the lives of the diverse population of metropolitan Los Angeles, Taylor found the Urban Studies major, with its integral internship program, ideally suited to her educational and career goals. Combining her Urban Studies classes with directly relevant work in the community, Taylor completed two internships, first as a legislative intern in the office of L.A. City Councilmember Bernard Parks and then as an economic development intern in the Community Development Department of the City of Inglewood. On-campus, Taylor was awarded a Rains Undergraduate Research Fellowship and worked with Dr. Pete Hoffman, Director of the Urban Studies Program, on a project examining the granting of zoning variances.
With a solid academic preparation in urban issues, a proven record of undergraduate research, and an impressive resume of internship experiences, Taylor was a Fulbright scholarship finalist as a senior. Upon graduation, Taylor was offered a full-time position as a planning technician by the City of Inglewood and is currently working there. In fall of 2016, she began her Master's of Planning and Master's of Public Administration at USC.
Alumni Spotlight
For Citlaly Orozco '15, just getting to class was an education. A commuter student who lived at home with her family, she took the city bus from East LA to LMU’s Westchester campus each day, observing the spectrum of LA neighborhoods as she crossed town.
As a commuter and a first-generation college student, Citlaly struggled to adjust. “I was late to my very first class of college because the bus ran late,” she remembers. “I cried on the bus, thinking, ‘Is my professor going to be mad at me?’” But as a member of the First-to-Go community, Citlaly had two first-year courses with other “first-gen” students, and her professors, mentors, and peers helped her start to feel like she belonged.
Citlaly didn’t let her initial challenges – or her cross-city commute – stop her from becoming an active scholar on campus. She ambitiously pursued two majors, Chicana/o Studies and Urban Studies, the latter inspired by the changing urban landscapes she witnessed out the bus window each day. She held multiple off-campus internships while at LMU, including a position at Leadership for Urban Renewal (LURN), a community development organization in Boyle Heights. There, she planned a program to help local corner stores sell healthier food, and studied gentrification and development in the neighborhood.
As she got more comfortable on campus, Citlaly made it her mission to help other newcomers at LMU feel at home. She worked in Campus Ministry, coordinating Latino Overnight retreats for fellow Latina/o students. She mentored first-years in the First-to-Go community. She also joined Sigma Lambda Gamma, a multicultural sorority in which she grew personally while also helping create a space of welcome and support for the other women in the group.
Now that she’s graduated, Citlaly’s commitment to empowering others continues. In her first job out of college, she taught college test prep courses at a Highland Park public charter school with a high Latina/o population. Now, she is working to help students become future leaders and ensure justice in educational policies as an educational coach for Upward Bound at CSULB. She plans to pursue a teaching credential and a master’s in education policy, because she says, “I got an amazing education, and I want as many people as possible to have access to that opportunity, too.”
Alumni Spotlight
Sahar Mansoor ’13 works as an environmental policy analyst and runs her own zero-waste company, but to truly call herself an environmentalist she needed to embody her principles on a personal level. “I could say I cared about the environment, but if I wasn’t living those values then I wasn’t an environmentalist,” said Mansoor. “That’s why I started trying to live a zero-waste lifestyle, which is a journey in itself.”
A native of Bangalore, India, Mansoor came to Loyola Marymount University looking for “out of the box thinking.” What she found was a vocation. As a political science major, Mansoor took several classes in Environmental Studies that she called life-changing. “[My professors] Brian Treanor and Chris Chapple challenged me to think about the complex interdisciplinary environmental issues our world is facing. I started to think more deeply about my carbon footprint, my actions, my impact on the environment, and how they’re all interconnected.”
“LMU doesn’t just educate your mind,” said Mansoor. “It really educates your heart and helps to mold that vision of who you want to be in the future.”
Mansoor shifted her focus to Environmental Studies and completed her undergraduate degree with a double major. She received a Rotary Foundation Global Grant to attend the University of Cambridge in England, where she earned her master’s degree in Environmental Policy in 2014. Mansoor worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva before returning to India as a policy analyst for SELCO Foundation, a nonprofit think tank focused on providing clean energy solutions to underserved communities. “The foundation is really fun because we get to be innovative and risk-taking with pilot projects that we think could potentially be used in the field,” Mansoor said, citing solar-powered sewing machines as a recent undertaking.
In addition to her work at SELCO Foundation, Mansoor writes articles on environmental policy for the Huffington Post and runs an all-natural personal care company called Bare Necessities, which she sees as a way to help “institutionalize the zero-waste philosophy.”
“There are two issues I’m really passionate about,” Mansoor said. “Improving energy access and rethinking consumption and waste to embody a cradle-to-cradle philosophy. I’m really lucky that I’m doing them both.”
