By Meredith Mohr
Many students who walk the halls on the campus of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) say their alma mater is in the business of “building up students.” They look back on their time at the university and remember how they felt seen by their educators and peers. They recall their time in classrooms with professors who showed them a new way of seeing the world. Mentors and peers build up their confidence and resolve to make the world a better place, laying the foundation of a sense of community and pride in who they are, where they came from, and most importantly, where they are going.
It is fitting, then, that a university in the business of building up students has the same vision for their community. And, this couldn’t be more true of PVAMU’s Master of Community Development Program, part of the university’s School of Architecture.
The program is specifically designed to build better communities, connections, and perspectives into city programming and initiatives and develop a foundation of collaborative and transformative work and relationships between leaders and residents. Building things is at the heart of the Community Development Program.
With a recent milestone marked – the program’s 20th anniversary – several students and faculty shared how the program has aided them in their careers and equipped them with the resources and tools to make their cities and neighborhoods better.
These accomplishments are thanks in part to the university’s hard work in pursuing connection and change through the development of the Prairie View community and region.
Enhancing Society
The Master of Community Development Program is a unique program that attracts students from diverse academic backgrounds. But they each have a shared mission and vision: they see a need, problem, or potential and care about how their community can be improved socially, physically, and economically. Many of the graduates of the program, which is one of the oldest in the country, have gone on to be involved with the design and development of new and growing communities. They are collaborating with other city leaders or solving problems alongside others, all with the anticipation of avoiding future issues faced by communities today.
This is especially true for Christa Stoneham ’08 ’10 ’12, who graduated from the Community Development Program in 2012 after receiving a bachelor’s and master’s degree in architecture from PVAMU. She now works for the City of Houston in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office, spearheading an initiative called Complete Communities that focuses on revitalization and empowerment for ten specific communities in Houston. The program, which launched four years ago during Mayor Turner’s first term, has doubled in size since Stoneham has worked with it.
Stoneham’s role began with engagement with community residents to capture the top priorities and projects the community desired. In the years since, her role has morphed into aligning opportunities with different corporate partners, nonprofits, and public agencies to facilitate the implementation of action plans. Through this work, she aids in creating community development plans and policies tailored around focus areas like parks or health and safety to improve the overall quality of life.
“Every day, I need skills like project management tracking, the ability to document the progress of the action plan through fundraising, building community and partner relations, or donor relationship management,” Stoneham explained. “My degree from PVAMU was almost like a blueprint for this job. It couldn’t have been better preparation for me for exactly what I’m doing right now.”
Although Stoneham originally began in architecture, the program helped expand her skill set and knowledge of design beyond visual and physical elements – it’s also about people, she says. She even started as an intern with the City of Prairie View, which gave her valuable experience to build on in future similar roles.
“I am thankful to professors like Dr. [Akel] Kahera, the second director of the [Community Development] Program, for helping me navigate what was next in my career and asking questions to make me think,” Stoneham said. “How do you design a community by understanding historic preservation or the foundations of development from cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic perspectives? I felt ready to do the work I am doing because of this program.”
A Close-knit Feel
Other alumni of the program echoed Stoneham’s sentiments – and in some cases, it’s a family affair. Courtney Johnson Rose ’06, who recently served as the keynote speaker for the 2021 Founders’ Day and Honors Recognition Convocation at PVAMU, completed the master’s program at PVAMU after earning a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon learning about the program, her mother, Thomasine Johnson ‘06, was so energized by what it could add to her experience that she completed the program alongside her daughter.
“[My mother] was so determined that I attend and complete the program that she completed the program with me,” Johnson Rose remembers. “We graduated as mother and daughter with our degrees. She currently serves as a director for our firm, George E. Johnson Development, Inc. The firm is a full-service real estate development firm that specializes in community development. I currently serve as Chief Executive Officer. My experience at PVAMU has opened doors for us to serve clients such as Houston Independent School District, the City of Missouri City, St. John’s UMC Church, and the City of Houston. The PVAMU Community Development program has been instrumental in my career and a key part of my journey of becoming a developer.”
Leading the Future
Johnson Rose noted that one of the program’s greatest strengths is developing “conscious leaders.” When students finish the program – no matter what they end up doing or where they serve – they are equipped to be resourceful, creative, thoughtful leaders who have a deep understanding of community development processes that leads to real change and progress.
“These alumni have contributed in many ways to the progress of our region. Several graduates work in planning and development for the City of Houston, for example, and use their skills and talents developed in the program to push our region forward,” Johnson Rose said. “The work starts at PVAMU – even the current mayor of Prairie View is a graduate of the program and will be able to lean on his background in building communities to lead Prairie View.”
To learn more about PVAMU’s Community Development Program, visit www.pvamu.edu/soa.
Source: Prairie View A&M University School of Architecture
