Intern Experience: Ella Strzempek
We have been pleased to have not one but two interns at Pashek+MTR this year! A 2025 Penn State graduate with a degree in landscape architecture, intern Ella Strezempek has been a great help to our designers and planners over the past few months. We sat down with Ella to find out how her internship was going so far.
Kara: We try to have our interns work on a variety of projects and activities at Pashek +MTR. What kinds of things have you been involved in so far?
Ella: So far this summer, I have had the chance to work on a wide range of projects at Pashek + MTR, which has been one of the best parts of the internship. I recently graduated from Penn State with a degree in Landscape Architecture, and since there are so many different routes and niches within the field, getting to test them out here post-grad has been so helpful. One of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on has been the Parks Master Plan for McCandless Township, working with Pashek+MTR’s Recreation Planner Heather Cuyler. I grew up in McCandless, so it means a lot to me to help plan for the same parks and neighborhoods that first got me interested in landscape architecture. I have gotten involved with public engagement and putting together concept maps, tapping into my creative side and my people side, further seeing how design ideas connect directly with the community. I have also spent time working on the North Park Latodami Nature Center project, which is basically right in my backyard. I have been hiking and exploring on this site since I was a kid, so it’s super exciting to be part of the team restoring and reimagining the site. The work ranges from marketing and branding to mapping and trail planning, and it has been great to collaborate with Allegheny County again after having worked for them in the past in various roles, including as a landscape architecture intern. Overall, it has been so valuable to work on projects that not only are interesting but also personally meaningful to me and my connection to the Pittsburgh area.
Kara: Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Ella: I was surprised by how quickly I got to jump into real projects that have a direct impact on communities. Coming straight from school, where projects are not always tied to real outcomes, it feels so different to see the work we are doing here actually move forward and make a difference.
Kara: What are the aspects of the job that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Ella: One of the aspects I find most interesting and rewarding is the community involvement side of work. It is incredible to see how people’s input directly shapes the projects we work on, from design ideas to the final layout of the space. Being able to talk to the community members, hear their experiences, and see their needs reflected in our plans really brings work to life. It is so fulfilling knowing that the space created will be used and enjoyed by people in their everyday lives.
Kara: Lastly, what do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Ella: Career wise, I see myself working for a firm where I can continue to grow as a landscape architect while contributing to meaningful community-centered projects. Personally, I hope to have continued to check off places from my travel bucket list, including Asia, and bring the inspiration I gain into my perspectives and approaches to work and life.
Intern Experience: Lola Hodgins
Over the past few months we have been pleased to have a new addition to our planning team, intern Lola Hodgins. A 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Lola has taken on various roles during her time at Pashek + MTR. We sat down with Lola to find out how her internship was going so far.
Kara: We try to have our interns work on a variety of projects and activities at Pashek + MTR. What kinds of things have you been involved in so far?
Lola: As a Planning Intern, I have worked on a variety of projects, namely Implementable Comprehensive Plans for municipalities in both Southwestern P
ennsylvania and Western New York State. Since Planning is such an interdisciplinary field, I get to do many fun tasks (fun to me anyway!), such as designing branding and websites, research, using different ESRI tools, interviewing stakeholders, and more. Besides that, I have been helping with branding and mapping for various active and public transportation plans around Allegheny County. This has been especially exciting to me because in college, my friends and I had a group chat called “Future Transportation Planners of America.” Now, that is true!
Kara: Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Lola: One thing that surprised me was how writing style is a key part of our planning work. In our Implementable Comprehensive Plans framework, we try to convey the information in a way that tells a story and that is easy to digest, using plain language, not technical jargon. This is so that every person reading the Plan can understand it, not just planners or politicians. In college, I was taught technical writing for Fancy Official Planning Documents, so it has been different from what I expected in school, but much more fun.
Kara: What are the aspects of the job that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Lola: The part of my job that is the most rewarding is going to public meetings and engaging with people. I love meeting new people and making their voices heard. To me, that is the most essential part of equitable planning, and being able to do it on a regular basis is a huge privilege. I always leave events and one-on-one interviews knowing I made an impact on not only the plan we are working on, but the people themselves.
Kara: What do yo
u see yourself doing five years from now?
Lola: What I would most love to do five years from now is very similar to what I do now! I would love to be a consulting Community Planner. I find it so fun, interesting, and rewarding. It is what I’ve wanted to do since my first year of college, and I’m so grateful to have a taste of it now.
Welcome Lucy!
We are pleased to welcome our new summer intern Lucy Rummler! Lucy is an MLA student at Penn State University. She enjoys working on design projects that involve ecological restoration, pedestrian and bike infrastructure planning, and planting design.
Lucy is excited to learn about the design process at Pashek + MTR and explore Pittsburgh this summer. Her undergraduate program and past work experiences have centered on plant ecology research, and she loves that landscape architecture allows her to combine this background with a design approach. Her master’s capstone project, which she is also working on this summer, is a flood resiliency project in Conway, South Carolina. She is also a volunteer for ClearWater Conservancy’s watershed cleanup, Centred Outdoors, and stream buffer monitoring programs.
Summer Intern Laura Esposito
This summer we have been pleased to have a new addition to our office, our summer intern Laura Esposito. A 2015 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Laura is heading into her final year of the Masters of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Georgia. We sat down with Laura to find out how her internship was going so far.
Kara: We try to give our summer interns a taste of everything we do at Pashek + MTR. What kinds of things have you been involved in this summer? Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Laura: Since Pashek + MTR does a wide variety of work, I’ve enjoyed attending a lot of meetings and experiencing what goes into every kind of project; what the client needs, how the project will be developed and then constructed, etc. One thing I’ve noticed in particular is just how many different “jobs” a landscape architect has, from creating graphics, communicating with various stakeholders, or navigating a municipality’s zoning ordinance. An LA has to be aware of all aspects of the project, from generating initial design concepts all the way to construction.
Kara: One of the things you’ve been helping us with is boosting the sustainability of our office operations for the Sustainable Workplace Challenge. Tell me more about what you’ve been up to with that.
Laura: I’ve had to the opportunity to write a few sustainable office policies and actually set those policies into motion, which has been fun. As of early July, we have eliminated most individual trash cans at desks, which also eliminates the need for the plastic trash bags that line them. Traditionally, the cleaning service would come and replace the trash bags even if they had one piece of trash in them. We’ve switched to having one small trash can for each floor of our office, which should cut our plastic bag use by about 80 percent.
Kara: What are the aspects of landscape architecture that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Laura: I really enjoy the ability to exercise creativity in this profession. I became interested in pursuing this career because I wanted to do something that utilized my interest in the natural and built environments in a creative way. I also enjoy that design requires problem solving, which always challenges you think outside the box and push yourself. I would like my work to provide people with public space that fosters a sense of place and community, becoming a backdrop for everyday life.
Kara: What are you looking forward to this fall when you return to school?
Laura: I want to learn as much as I can while still in school. I will be writing my thesis this year, which is a pretty daunting task. Although I’m still trying to nail down my exact topic, I would like to write about the redevelopment of the Lower Hill District in Pittsburgh; the urban renewal efforts of the 50s and 60s created social issues still present today. I’d like to explore how landscape architecture can influence neighborhood identity using the principles of human-centered design. Besides school, I’m looking forward to Saturdays in Athens, which include football games and lots of tailgating. Go Dawgs! Not looking forward to the 90+ degree days.
Kara: What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Laura: I see myself working for hopefully a small to mid-sized firm. I would like to get a variety of experiences in my first job, so working at a multi-disciplinary firm would be great.
We’ve enjoyed working with Laura and wish her all the best as she heads into her final year of grad school this August. Thanks Laura for all your help this summer!
Lessons Learned from Barcelona: An Intern’s Perspective
Our intern, Tori Frydrych, was fortunate enough to study in Barcelona, Spain earlier this summer. Before she left to go back to school, she wrote about her experience:
During my time abroad, I received an entirely new perspective on design, one that differed greatly from design practices here in the United States. To begin the six-week courses, I was introduced to the history of Barcelona and how it has become the bustling tourist destination that it is today. We learned first of the four main concepts of Ildefons Cerda’s Theory of Urbanization; hygiene, circulation, public services, and code of urban ordinances. These four areas were the main building blocks for the unique gridded expansion of the city in the mid-19th century, otherwise known as L’Eixample. He saw the need for more natural lighting, green spaces, public services, and the seamless movement of people, goods, and services within the City of Barcelona.
To achieve this, Cerda’s new grid system was laid out with an even ratio of roadway and sidewalk width. In other words, the sidewalk would reach out from the buildings 10 meters, followed by 20 meters of roadway, followed by another 10 meters of sidewalk. The corners of all blocks were also cut off at 45-degree angles, making crossing streets safer and helping breezes move through the city more easily. The interior of each block was meant for public greenspaces.
My focus was then narrowed specifically on the coastline of Barcelona. The goal of my design studio was to transform an outdated, underutilized beach athletic club into a coastline destination that would better link the urban fabric of the city to the shore. The history of Barcelona’s shoreline is not one of nature but one of man’s alteration and construction. As industry grew, it became a dumping and transportation nightmare, only to be manually overhauled in time for the 1992 Olympic Games.
In order to accommodate the Olympics, intense urban renewal occurred throughout the city to prepare for the Games and the immense amount of people that would arrive in the city. Most of these improvements occurred in the coastal shoreline areas of the city. Additionally, it was relatively blocked off from people because of the many rail lines that were running along the coast. In preparation for the Games, these rail lines were redirected and new transportation highways were added. This opened access to the shore and six artificial beaches were created to be used during the Olympics and to attract tourism long afterwards.
Keeping this history in mind, I created a site that both physically connected the land and sea while also visually mirroring the two domains, showing that they will be forever linked in the city’s history of expansion and growth. Overall, I created a design that allowed for public gathering plazas, cafés featuring locally caught fish, performance spaces, recreation areas, and largely a better connection from the nearby commercial district to the popular beaches.
I greatly enjoyed my time abroad and will keep Cerda’s design principles in mind as I enter my fourth year studying Landscape Architecture at Penn State University. I will be studying abroad in Bonn, Germany next fall and I am eager to see how other areas of Europe approach the design process.
