When Nellie Conklin ‘26 walked into her first urban studies class at Trinity, she did not expect it to change her whole academic path. “I came into Trinity thinking I was going to be a psych major,” she says. “I signed up for URST 101 kind of randomly, and it just clicked.” Not only was that class the turning point that led her to major in urban studies, but it also remains her favorite class ever taken at Trinity. “I didn’t think I would love an introductory class so much,” Nellie explains. “But I started to see the things I interact with every day – my home, my neighborhood – through what we were learning in class. It was like the city around me suddenly made more sense.”
This year, Nellie has been named the Presidential Scholar in urban studies, an honor that recognizes her academic excellence, engagement in the department, and commitment to using urban scholarship beyond the classroom.
Finding Urban Studies: in Hartford and beyond
Nellie’s Urban Studies journey has unfolded in Hartford and abroad. On campus, she says being an Urban Studies major in a city like Hartford has shaped how she learns. Classes that connect directly to places, like From Hartford to World Cities, taught by her favorite professor, David Lukens, helped her see theory and reality side by side. “I loved when we were studying Hartford while actually being in Hartford,” she says. “You learn about patterns and concepts in class, and then you walk outside and see them in front of you. That’s been one of the most interesting parts of the major.” Her semester abroad in Rome added another layer. Nellie took a course called Urban and Global Rome, which met on site every week, with Professor Piero Vereni and teaching assistant Simone Cerulli. “Every Tuesday we would go to a different neighborhood,” she explains. “We weren’t going to the big tourist places. Instead, we visited the outskirts and smaller communities I never would have seen otherwise.” Those trips changed how she thought about cities. “It made me see spatial patterns differently: how people have moved historically from the center of Rome outwards,” she says. “We also looked at informal settlements and how those communities formed. Seeing that in person was so powerful.”
Turning Coursework into Community Impact
One of Nellie’s defining experiences has been working at the intersection of data, community partners, and housing justice. As a sophomore, she took a Data Visualization course with Professor Jack Dougherty that pairs students with a community partner each semester. When Nellie later became a TA for the class, the partner was the Center for Leadership and Justice, working on issues like community land trusts and affordable housing. Her professor offered an optional side project: creating a data story and a written overview of the Center’s affordable housing program and its accomplishments. Nellie said yes. “I was technically just taking the TA position for credit, so none of that extra work was required,” she says. “But it sounded meaningful, so I took it on, and it turned into a lot of hours.” Nellie continued working on the project over winter break, and the work paid off – the organization ended up using her writing on their website. “That was really cool,” she says. “It felt like real work, not just schoolwork. There aren’t many classes where you see your academic work actually used in the real world.” She has since TA’d again for two more sections of the course, supporting projects on topics such as school finance and school-based health centers.
Urban Society and a Passion for Housing
Within the Urban Studies major, Nellie is pursuing the Urban Society concentration. Over time, she has found herself drawn again and again to questions of housing justice. “I’ve been really interested in affordable housing,” she says. “Across my classes, I noticed that my interests always lined up when we were talking about housing, community land trusts, and planning.” Her coursework spans several of Professor Goldstein’s classes, Sustainable Urban Development, Affordable Housing Policies, and Comparative Planning Perspectives, as well as Professor Baldwin’s Race and Urban Space, which she especially loved.
When asked what Urban Studies means to her, Nellie pauses, then frames it as a way of seeing. “I think Urban Studies is how I understand my environment – the built environment around me,” she says. “My courses have made me see cities very differently. I notice how they’re constructed spatially, and I recognize patterns and concepts we’ve talked about in class when I’m just walking around.” That shift – from city as background location to city as something legible and shaped by policy, history, and power – is at the core of her academic experience.
After graduation, Nellie plans to move back home to Boston and work in affordable housing. She has been exploring roles with housing programs and organizations working on community land trusts. “That’s the direction I’m taking right now,” she says. “Working with the community land trust work last year made me want to keep going in that area. I’m applying to positions in Boston and hoping to stay connected to that kind of work.”
Why Mentorship Matters in Urban Studies
When Nellie talks about Urban Studies at Trinity, one thing comes up over and over: the people. “It’s such a small department, and that’s a huge strength,” she says. “The professors really get to know you. They know your interests, they see you in multiple classes, and they help you think about what comes next.” That closeness gave Nellie the confidence to enroll in graduate-level seminars like Public Management with Professor Sean Fitzpatrick. Sitting in a room with graduate students who have real-world experience can be intimidating, she admits, but the quality of the conversations makes it worth it. “The discussions are really rich,” she says. “And the professors are great at bringing everyone into the room.”
Her advice to students considering Urban Studies reflects the experiences she’s had: “Take as many Urban Studies classes as you can. They’re great, and the department is small enough that your professors really get to know you.” She encourages students to ask questions, stay curious, and build relationships. “Interact with your professors: they’re very approachable, and they end up helping you out a lot in the future. At a small school, you want those connections. In Urban Studies, you really do get them.”
As a newly named Presidential Scholar, Nellie represents the best parts of the department: curiosity, community engagement, and a genuine care for cities. From Hartford to Rome and soon back home to Boston, she carries that spirit forward.
