2025 WLIA Scholarship Winner Spotlight: Samantha Consiglio

The WLIA Scholarship Committee announced the winners of the 2025 Damon Anderson Memorial Scholarship in early February. To celebrate these students and get you familiar with them before the 2026 WLIA Annual Conference, we are sharing interviews that we are doing with the scholarship awardees. Watch for two more articles in the coming days!

Samantha Consiglio (suh-man-thuh con-sig-leo) is a first-year Master’s Student of Urban Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Geography graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She won’t be able to return to Wisconsin to attend the annual conference, but she enthusiastically gave us a summary of her studies and clearly appreciates some of the finer things in life, like autumn and Italy (can’t say I blame her!). 

How did you decide on your field of study?

I originally started my undergraduate degree in actuarial sciences, but after taking a few courses, I realized I wanted to work more with communities and people. Before making the switch, I took an Introduction to GIS course and fell in love with spaces and the perceptions, uses, and impacts they could have. Taking human geography courses during my undergraduate degree solidified that I wanted to make a career out of this. I took up two certifications at UW-Eau Claire (Urban and Regional Planning, and a GIS certificate). Focusing my studies to these two specializations, I wanted to learn more about urban planning specifically after undergrad. This prompted me to apply for graduate programs in Urban Planning and sent me down the path I’m in now. 

Why did you choose to attend “the other UW?” This Wisconsinite is struggling to compute this!

I chose to attend the University of Washington to learn different planning practices than what I had previously learned during undergrad. After completing my undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, I wanted to experience different perspectives brought into the planning field. With Seattle implementing new light rail systems and a growing population, learning planning practices out here has been an amazing experience. The network this program has given me so far has also been wonderful to experience. The field of planning is a tight knit one with many people working together from many different places. 

I remember being told to try-on the perspective of different universities if I wanted to go to grad school too, so that makes sense! How do your study and career goals contribute to the life that you want?

Both within my academics and my career, contributing to something larger than myself is the life I hope to lead. Being a part of this profession and furthering my studies deeper to understand the impact I can have is what I want to give back to people within communities. 

I love your sense of purpose here, Samantha! What are you excited about studying this semester?

This quarter, I’m currently working on a studio project within my program’s Livable City Year. Within this program, students work to contribute to a project in the state of Washington. The project I am currently helping out with is the incorporation of South Hill, Washington. Through this project, my team and I are looking into the sense of place within this community and if incorporation makes the most sense for it moving forward. This work has been extremely interesting so far, and I’m super excited to learn more about what incorporation of a town actually entails. 

This is a cool study, a Madison newspaper published an article relating to this issue last month! What is your 3-year plan?

Within the next 3 years, I’m hoping to graduate from my program in Seattle, and work for the public sector as a planner in some capacity. Whether this is in Seattle, back in the Midwest, or in another place entirely, I want to use the knowledge I have gained from both my undergraduate and graduate programs to help connect a community. Working for a city or government would be the most rewarding experience. 

What are you hoping to learn or “get” from being in WLIA?

By being a WLIA member, I’m hoping to make connections with other geographers and GIS specialists across Wisconsin. While I’m in Seattle currently, my long-term goal is to plan back in the Midwest (in some capacity). Being a WLIA member has allowed me to make these connections so far and expand my network. Understanding the work other people are doing in relationship to place is critical to build communities and I have enjoyed being a part of an association that upholds this value. 

What’s the best advice someone has ever given you?

The best advice I have ever been shown is the power of making connections and building a sense of community. Throughout my education, there have been many professors that have shown me this firsthand. Sparking conversations with people wherever you are can have an extremely large impact on your viewpoints and the togetherness you can create. While this is something I have been studying for a while, seeing mentors around me do this firsthand by sparking conversations in a museum, while walking around a neighborhood, grabbing food, etc., really shows you how every person has a story and experience and how getting to know that experience can shape your perceptions and viewpoints. By simply making conversation, the world becomes much more connected. 

The way the culture operates today, that community-building feels both more difficult and more important than ever! On that note, what would you choose to do if you didn’t have your smartphone for a week?

If I didn’t have a smartphone for a week, I would explore my surroundings as much as possible. One of my favorite pasttimes is to go on walks. Specifically in Seattle, walking is the best way to understand the urban villages and small businesses. If I had time and no sense of where I needed to be (or tied to an online map), I would love to wander these areas and find new restaurants, coffee shops, or businesses! 

Getting lost in your own neighborhood is great (most of the time)! Let’s try some more fun questions! What’s something most people wouldn’t guess about you?

Most people wouldn’t know that I love theater and live shows! During high school, I was extremely involved in show choir and absolutely love to still see a concert, musical, or show every once in a while!

 (Phantom of the Opera plays in Colter’s brain) Where would you most like to travel to and why?

If I could travel anywhere, I would love to visit anywhere in Italy. I am a big pasta fan and there are many sites there I would love to explore! 

Grazie! It’s great . . . when you go, tip me on the best cookbooks, please! What about back home? What are some of your favorite things about Wisconsin?

Some of my favorite things about Wisconsin are the food and community events. I grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which had amazing local events and with them amazing food! Living in Eau Claire for four years, I would argue that anywhere in Wisconsin has the best community events and local foods to try! My personal favorite events were Waukesha’s “Friday Night Live”, Eau Claire’s “Best of Night”, and any farmers market or summertime festival in Wisconsin! 

I visit both Eau Claire and the Waukesha areas frequently and haven’t heard of either of those “night” events! Thanks for the ideas for my next trips! One more, and we’re going abstract this time. What season would you be and why?

If I could be any season, it would be fall. The weather is perfect, the colors are amazing, and there is so much to do before it starts getting cold! 

You aren’t wrong! I hope you get to enjoy how Washington fall is different from Wisconsin’s! More so, I hope your studies continue to go well and that you can come see us back in Wisconsin sometime! Thank you, Samantha, and as Fraiser Crane didn’t say, “stay classy, Seattle!”