Student: Zachary Parlee

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/37417

Writing Assignment Used for This Interview

The City and County Planning Director, Henry Chen, wants to gather information about Moʻiliʻili. You have been selected as the local planning consultant to prepare a memorandum for him. To prepare the memo, take a map of the Moʻiliʻili area with you and walk around the neighborhood. You can also carry a camera/voice recorder to record your observations on the neighborhood or simply annotate the map. Think about the following questions as you walk around: Where does Moʻiliʻili begin? Where does it end? How do you know? Who were the people you saw in Moʻiliʻili--students, seniors, others? What did you observe about the interactions among cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists? How would you describe the environment--natural, built, social? What would you recommend to make improvements?

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Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 15 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Not a standard but rather knowledge of what could be. Mililani is kind of the antithesis of Moʻiliʻili in a lot of ways. Very walkable. Very well structured. Uniform. And aesthetically pleasing. And so, not to belittle Moʻiliʻili, but I came partially with that preconception of a good neighborhood as somewhere that exhibits good traits. And so looking through that lens, I was able to pinpoint some of the main problems . . . There is no lack of cultural diversity, but maybe socio-economic diversity. There isn't that dichotomy . . . they're kind of stuck in that 'bad neighborhood.' Maybe it is hard for them to see what it could be.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 14 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: [Learning to outline] happened in college for sure. Throughout high school and college, every teacher has taught you how to outline. For me, that really hit home I think. Probably the semester before last (Spring 2013), I did a semester abroad in Australia. I took some classes that require huge papers – viral impact assessment, assessment, term paper, sustainable communities -16 page papers. There’s no way I can do this without planning. Sometimes I would get an Ipod and just start writing, and it would come out but with things this big, you can’t do that . . . I was kind of forced to do it and I saw the benefit in that, so since then even if it was a 3 page paper it’s so easy – you get that outline out.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 13 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Transitions--go from where you're talking about, find some way to fuse it, then just make the transition . . . When you have your outline, and you're actually typing it out, it comes out organically in ways that--your can't force a transition . . . I feel--sometimes things just feed into each other more naturally . . . that's why I have to switch things around sometimes, the transition works better with this here . . . as if it were a narrative, you're taking the reader on a journey in a way that feels very linear to them. So you might begin with community and then go to walkability, and everything naturally flows into one another.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 12 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Yeah I think so. it was such a pivotal course for me . . . it was one of my favorite courses I’ve taken so far mainly because of the way I felt afterwards . . . I felt like I improved a lot as a writer, I gained a huge understanding of planning, I have a greater understanding of myself and my interests and things I can pursue. Generally, it was like going to the gym for a workout and coming back feeling stronger – and you feel good about that. I want to convey to students– or anyone – that courses like this are really invaluable.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 11 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Going elsewhere. I’ve been here my whole life, so it’s sort of that itch to get off the island.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 10 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: I’m also interested in teaching, I have some experience doing that . . . Teaching swim lessons at the YMCA, and English classes over the summer. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve been looking for way to fuse my interests in environmental studies with education . . . So right now my goals are to apply for Teach for America, so I can explore to see if I enjoy teaching. After that 2 year commitment, I want to go to graduate school to pursue something a little more specific in the environmental field – I’m very passionate about that. I like the idea of nonprofit, educational organizations. As a teacher you have to know how to write, how to critically read – those two go hand in hand. If I want to do anything in the nonprofit sector, then grant writing would be part of that. In general, in the professional world, even in emails, you have to know how to write.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 9 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Yup, I met a couple students who I got really close with and still talking to. My relationship to Hawaii? Definitely, because a lot of what we did, a lot of the case studies were here in Hawaiʻi. We even had speakers come in to talk about the historical buildings in downtown Honolulu. A woman came in to talk about alternative energy, and it gave me that broader scope . . . I do [see my major differently], mainly because as a natural resource planner – my specialization – I wasn’t exactly sure what that would entail. But after taking the class, I got a taste for it as well a reinforcement that that's something I’m interested in.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 8 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: A little more. We learned a little more about alternative energy. We learned more about the policies that go along with that and what types of energy we have flowing around the islands. I learned a lot about rail: a lot of students did their project on rail and the pros and cons of that.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 7 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: As a person, it made me kind of see a lot of things that interest me as a Natural Resource and Environmental Management major. I’m specializing in natural resource planning, this is very related to this. It was awesome getting to see how all that works and really understanding that is it is something I care about and see myself doing. It was very eye opening to see how much goes into planning, and all the different elements from politics to natural resources to demographics . . . Definitely opened my eyes to the field . . . As a writer, it was probably one of the more challenging courses I’ve had. I had to write a 12-15 page final paper, I did mine on sustainable tourism in Hawaiʻi. I think it made me a better writer because I was kind of forced to write a huge paper, and structure it really well and that was one of the challenges when I had to write in that big of a form.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 6 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Before I get started, things seem to be pretty daunting sometimes . . . when I get started on a paper it goes away. But it’s getting started that’s hard. Sometimes I’ll even procrastinate reading the assignment, also for things that are new or big. This assignment was definitely on the scarier end. It was something I hadn’t done before, and it was little bit big. It's this monster that I create in my head, before I see what I need to do . . . [the field work] was another element that added to it, and makes it a little more scary. It’s another thing you have to do and put me out of my comfort zone. But similarly [to writing],when you actually get out there and you see things, these ideas come flying out of you and it makes it beneficial and makes things a lot easier. I took pictures and notes.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 5 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: Planning the paper and making an outline is the most important step of any paper. I'll start a paper sometimes and it comes out all jumbled. I start over, literally, and do an outline, and it comes out much more easily, much more well-structured. That's a strong point in writing for me . . . in some ways easier than a typical paper, because the memo had headers for sections I was going to talk about--suggestions for improvement, etc.: it was easy to structure.Feeling like I put a lot of work into writing [defines success for me]. I have to feel good about what I produce, otherwise I won’t turn it in. And getting it back and seeing the comments on it to see if I did well or not, how I could improve. Partially the grade she gives [defines her understanding of success in writing], but also even if the writing is not necessarily great, there is conceptual evidence that you understand what you’re talking about, what a memo is and being able to talk about some problems in Moʻiliʻili and suggestions to improve them. There’s the fundamental core that she appreciates and understands . . . I've learned in other courses the value of social capital, and having these places where people gather, like parks or coffee shops. Walkability is also extremely important, for mitigating traffic, and also ways on enhancing social capital and interacting with people. I see that, particularly in Moʻiliʻili--there's always a lot of cars on the streets, there aren't a lot of crossings. I think that social capital is the core of a lot of healthy neighborhoods . . . If people feel invested in where they live, then it all shows. She wanted them all to reflect some of our own personal, observations. She asked us to walk around a couple blocks, so depending on where we walked, what time we walked, depending on who we were and we saw different things. Basically, the idea of the assignment was regardless of what the problem was or what we saw, we had to argue it.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 4 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: It definitely motivated me, partially because I got a good grade on it. Kind of a mixed reaction to it. At first, it kind of demotivated me because it was a bit scary seeing the requirements. But then when I actually got started and started using the resources I had available, I was pretty motivated, once I got started. It was something I had not done before. It’s something you actually present to the Director, something that has to be precise, uses figures and notes. It was 4 pages, single spaced. As a junior, I hadn't written too many things yet. So for me, that was sort of a hurdle: 8 pages double-spaced. It [field work] was pretty motivating, actually. It was interesting doing research on Moʻiliʻili using some maps and all that information, synthesizing it into my paper . . . Pretty familiar with the neighborhood--I went to Punahou, right down the road, and I'm always driving down University Ave . . . it's not really conducive to hanging out, but I have shopped there.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 3 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: I think the major challenges were structuring it the way she wanted . . . It was meant to be as professional as possible--as if we were going to present it to the actual Planning Director . . . Trying to get all the content in without reiterating too much, or adding in too much useless information. It had to be very concise, to the point, professional. It started off going off, but then it came together.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 2 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: The relationships between the students themselves was very positive, and friendly and open . . . I was able to make friends easily . . . Everyone in the class seemed to have someone to talk to . . . At the same time, Dr. Das made it feel that way as well . . . Even when she was lecturing to us, there was a sort of that feeling of just being together in a big group where we could shout out our suggestions and ideas, and share willingly and comfortably without being shut down or anything . . . I think a lot of it [the dynamic] came from some group projects we did . . . We had an urban planning project where we had to design fictional redevelopment for a city . . . We had these groups [of about 5 people], and we had to work extensively on that. It was really fun. About half were local. A lot of them were architecture students . . . a lot of them were from Hong Kong, Korea . . . It was really mixed, there was a guy from Australia, people from the mainland. Very broad.
Student interview for Place-Based WAC/WID writing instruction in Urban and Regional Planning, clip 1 of 15
(2015) Place-based WAC/WID Hui; Parlee, Zachary; Henry, Jim
Brief excerpt from interview: For my major, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, it's a specialization course that I can take . . . Personally, I'm really interested in Geography and Land Use Planning, and I thought Planning 310 would be a great introduction to that field, and it was . . . I was the only person with my major in the class, but seeing that it is suggested as a specialization, I would assume that other students take it.

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