STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Thom Stead
M.S. City and Regional Planning '14

After graduating from Earlham College with bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology, Thom Stead took his time deciding what type of graduate education he wanted. He won a Fulbright that brought him to Indonesia to teach English. He lived in San Francisco and learned about bike advocacy. He applied to urban planning programs and elected to defer enrollment, taking more time to be sure of his niche. When he found Pratt’s City and Regional Planning program chaired by Professor John Shapiro he “felt at home,” recalls Stead. “I knew I wanted to study transportation planning with a community-based approach, where the city is a large part of the curriculum. I found that at Pratt.” Stead has continued to pursue his interest in biking, but doesn’t embrace New York City’s approach to promoting bicycling wholesale.

Text and Production: Bay Brown
Video and Production: Peter Tannenbaum