The Chang Prize fast-tracked me to becoming a subject matter expert while also catalyzing immense professional development and personal growth. It has had a direct positive impact on my contributions to policy research at RAND and has convinced me to devote my career to housing solutions.
The Chang Prize fast-tracked me to becoming a subject matter expert while also catalyzing immense professional development and personal growth. It has had a direct positive impact on my contributions to policy research at RAND and has convinced me to devote my career to housing solutions.
Sean McKenna became interested in exploring the housing crisis through his work as a research assistant at the Rand Corporation. The Chang Prize allowed him to spend a year connecting with residents, housing developers, homeless shelters, technology innovators, and policymakers in California and Washington, DC to learn more about the roots of the housing crisis.
Sean McKenna became interested in exploring the housing crisis through his work as a research assistant at the Rand Corporation. The Chang Prize allowed him to spend a year connecting with residents, housing developers, homeless shelters, technology innovators, and policymakers in California and Washington, DC to learn more about the roots of the housing crisis.
McKenna says that he is grateful for the “incredible amount of freedom" the Chang Prize gave him "to figure out how the skills and passions I developed at Caltech might translate into making a difference in the housing crisis, a problem that is very real for me, other Techers, and all residents of California.”
Enjoy a conversation with the 2018 Chang Prize recipients, Sean McKenna (BS ’17, Economics and Applied and Computational Mathematics) and Kyle Lakatos (MS ’14, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics), as originally broadcast on July 24, 2019.
Sean McKenna (BS '17) – Update #4
Sean McKenna (BS '17) – Update #3
Sean McKenna (BS '17) – Update #2
Sean McKenna (BS '17) – Update #1