On November 17, I traveled to Connellsville with the rest of the ACRI team to deliver our research results to a group of community stakeholders. We were thrilled to have a great turnout and enjoy the lunch they prepared for us at the Canteen. The presentation itself was excellent; all of our preparation in the weeks leading up to this event were worth it. Erin and I closed with a discussion of our research, focus group development, and directions moving forward before fielding questions from the audience. We got quite a few; the audience was very engaged with our presentation and had lots of suggestions that we took note of. They were excited about the prospect of programming for small businesses, and especially increasing opportunities for young people. Some valuable feedback had to do with the scope of opportunities that we’d considered so far; it might be broader than college or trade school. Apprenticeships would be a good option for students, local businesses, and the County that benefits from keeping its talent home. The brain drain phenomenon is on the minds of local people as much as it is ours.

Seeing how supportive of us the community was made me think about how important it is that we continue to serve them. Keeping accountable to people in Fayette County has been a goal of our work, and the Political Science cohort’s focus group development will ensure that we are, moving forward. The interviews that we did this year were extremely helpful, but we’ll get even more insight in the future by having group discussions where locals interact with each other in addition to us. The lunches in Connellsville were so productive for us in part because it got locals talking to one another, and we were able to listen and guide conversation. That’s what a focus group accomplishes. I’m very excited to see how future students execute our plans. I hope their experience in the community will be as enriching as ours. 

All in all, the second trip to Connellsville was a great experience that prepared us for our next trip to Washington, D.C. to present to the Appalachian Regional Commission. We needed to prepare a poster and new presentation material for this trip, but were so familiar with our work at this stage that it came together pretty painlessly. We were slotted to present the second day, so had the first to take in the conference. Gayle Manchin gave a brief address to kick it off, then we listened to other Appalachian schools share their own projects from their communities. One that I was particularly impressed by was from a group of nursing students working against nutrient deficiency by coordinating healthy food deliveries with local farms. Just like our team, some schools created a cross-disciplinary group of students; that’s the best way to address the multifaceted challenges that rural Appalachian communities face. We went to the National Mall later that day, and I got to spend some time in the Natural History Museum. This was my first time in D.C., so seeing all of the sights was incredible. 

We rehearsed late into the night before our presentation and executed the next day. In just a fifteen-minute window, we couldn’t cover every single thing that we accomplished, but we did a great job delivering the gist of our strategy, methods, and direction. I gave our closing statements, then we took questions from the crowd. People were interested in the program that we’d like to build for students. Their interest in this area, the interest of Connellsville people in the same one, and some words from Gayle Manchin made me realize that a successful Appalachian future is probably most dependent on its young people. If we can make it a more attractive option – really give young people every reason – to stay home, then the rest will follow when it comes to economic development.