Planning Department Intern, Andrew Strong, received the 2016 Marvin Collins Outstanding Student Award at the annual APA-NC conference in Asheville, NC. The outstanding student award is given to an outstanding student from each branch of the state university system which offers a degree in planning (Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) for exceptional academic studies and initiative in planning. Recipients are selected by the faculty of each university and honored at the North Carolina Annual Planning Conference. In addition to Planning Staff, Andrew's parents, James and Kimberly Strong, were in attendance at the awards ceremony.