Congratulations to Shannon Nelson (Political Science) on being awarded and completing a highly competitive, paid summer internship (2007) at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in Chicago.

For further information about this NORC program and to apply, visit
http://www.norc.org/Careers/Summer+Internships/. The summer internship program is found in a pull-down menu under “Careers.”

Shannon found the experience very beneficial and credits her preparation in the GCSRM with contributing to being awarded the internship and with the quality of her experience:

“My time at NORC has been great. I have learned a lot and during my review, they told me that I am someone they would like to invest in and keep. Currently, there is a plan for me to transition to a full-time team member for the 2010 round of the Survey of Consumer Finances, dependent on completion of my dissertation by then. Overall, it has been a wonderful experience and the GCSRM, I believe, made the difference in me getting the internship and, consequently, the chance to stay on as a research assistant. I want to thank you [Allyson], Tim, and Fred for preparing me. I was told I had a great understanding of the literature and of the field, which is directly attributable to you three. Thanks, Shannon”

Sandra Perpignani (Urban Planning) is Associate Research Analyst with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), a regional planning agency seeking to integrate transportation and land use planning for the seven-county Chicago region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake , Will, and McHenry). She has analyzed data for a large transportation survey and often advises her colleagues on questionnaire design. In addition, she is currently managing two large survey projects to support water conservation planning; the first is a survey of water utilities and the second will be a survey of the general public. More information is available about the Regional Water Supply Study.

Sandra writes:

“I am particularly grateful to have had the opportunity to study with UIC’s GCSRM. While the requirements did force me to replace some traditional planning coursework with survey research courses, I find that my survey methods knowledge is a great help to my career. It has allowed me to carve out a niche in the planning world, and build on my research studies, unique to many planners.”