Heather Kamyck
CDP/M.A. '05
 
1. Please describe your present professional position?

I am the Brownfields Coordinator for the Economic Development Division of the City of Worcester. My tasks include project management, consultant oversight and management, grant writing (as well as the administration and management of grants received). I also serve on the Mayor's Brownfields Roundtable Committee and work to market the City's brownfields programs at various events.
 
2. What do you find satisfying about your position?
 
Everyday is a challenge. Everyday is a learning experience. Not only do I get to apply technical skills such as grant writing and grant administration, but I also get to apply creative skills needed with project development and management.
 
3. How did the CDP program at Clark University help to prepare you?
 
The CDP program at Clark University offered me a variety of courses that helped to foster the skills I use in my professional position on a daily basis. The hands-on experience I received from this program very much prepared me for my career today.
 
4. Why should prospective students enroll in the CDP program at Clark University?
 
Community development is such a broad and diverse field. The CDP program at Clark offers courses that enable a community development practitioner to succeed in any sector they choose to enter; public, private, or non-profit. The professors bring real-life experience that is invaluable to this program and the class sizes really foster a creative atmosphere to which to learn.
 
5. Did you have an internship as part of your Clark education? If so, how did it help to connect you to your current career?
 
Yes, I had an internship with the City of Worcester's Executive Office of Elder Affairs. This internship furthered my resolve to enter into the public sector upon graduation from the program.
 
6. What was the topic of your research while at Clark University? 
 
Community planning for an aging population by applying smart growth techniques.