From History Major to Housing Researcher and Planner

For her senior History major capstone project at Gustavus, Kendyl (Landeck) Larson ’17 focused on the history of segregated housing in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Now she has completed her Master of Community and Regional Planning degree from Iowa State University and recently became Director of Research and Planning for the Polk County Housing Trust Fund in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines was the focus of Kendyl’s graduate research on “the legacy of redlining” there, and she interned “for over a year” at the Trust. She writes that in her new position “I give presentations, advocate for affordable housing, write reports, collect and analyze data, and create ways to have our information more accessible to our community (my history researching and writing skills have definitely paid off in my line of work!).” Indeed they have!

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Greg Kaster
Professor of History