Hiya! My name is Kyla Walker, and I’m a senior this year at the University of Pittsburgh. I am completing a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Studies with a minor in Political Science. Some things that encapsulate me are my love for singing and cooking. I am actually currently in a production of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (shoutout Musical Theater Club)! Singing and cooking, preferably both at the same time, are how I love to relax and spend my downtime. There’s nothing more fun to me than singing some songs, cooking some food, and then sitting down to enjoy the meal with my roommates. 

In the future though (pretty soon, in fact) I plan to go into some realm of environmental nonprofit/environmental policy work post graduation. I love my major and how it’s helping me change the world, one small step at a time. My overall goal in life is to become an environmental lawyer and work in environmental justice because those who are most negatively and disproportionately impacted by things like climate change, environmental disasters, etc. are typically marginalized communities who deserve to have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment. 

I am here today, however, to talk about the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative, or ACRI, a project that was created by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The ARC is an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region! This initiative is allowing students at the University of Pittsburgh to be a part of the shift and breaking down barriers between the urban and rural divide within Appalachia. Specifically, Pitt has built a ten year dedication with Fayette County to research ways to promote regional resiliency, economic growth, and overall prosperity within these more rural towns. To do this, we have partnered with the Fayette County Cultural Trust. This is the fourth year working within this county and with this initiative, and it feels awesome to be a part of the 2024-2025 cohort year!  It is imperative to know that this project is not just students coming in every year, doing some research, and then getting out; this has faculty that are a team that are persistent in coming back to Fayette County, year after year, looking and working for new and innovative ways to keep people coming back to the county. A lot of this work has been housed within Connellsville, which is about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Already, they’ve had an asset map made, focus groups conducted, training conducted within the Fayette Entrepreneurial Center, and so much more.  I hope to make great connections with people who I can relate to as I grew up in a small town within Appalachia as well, and I hope to learn what the University can offer to the surrounding communities outside of just Pittsburgh. 

My current goals are to dive into something with a new lens. I will be joining Kristin Kanthak and another student in conducting at least two focus groups, and doing this as a political scientist. Having political science as my minor has not led me to a lot of hands-on work within the field, so I am so excited to be able to witness and experience that first hand with this project! Being able to be directly linked with Professor Kanthak who actively does work in teaching the things I am already interested in, is something very special. This is actually the reason why I decided to join in on this project!

 I was sitting in Professor Kanthak’s “Politics of Appalachia” class and when she mentioned the project, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Especially after she had said “why does moving equate success” regarding the phenomenon that many who are from rural Appalachia think that the only way they can succeed in life is to “get out.” And that struck me hard because that was the exact thought that I had just three years prior when I was looking at what to do after graduating high school. I remember thinking, “well I can’t just stay here in this town, I won’t be able to live the life I want.” Which is something I’ve figured out since that is very untrue. I have become homesick quite a few times since coming to Pitt, and cherish all the memories that town gave me. Pittsburgh is the biggest metropolitan area within Appalachia, and there’s a real gap between the surrounding communities and Pittsburgh. 

In past semesters, I have worked as a Community Development Outreach intern at Fair Shake Nonprofit Law Firm, and hope to hone in on my professional development and community engagement skills. I was a part of every meeting and every community outreach plan. I want to continue within this project those communications and outreach skills. To show up and put in the work, even if it feels scary in the moment, it’s always so rewarding to know that you’ve just made a connection or spoken to someone and left the conversation feeling like it went really well. This is especially going to be imperative for the political science avenue of the project because we really want to gauge what the people of Fayette County want us to focus on. ACRI is not just a corporate entity with people coming in and telling these communities how they are failing and what they need to fix. It’s not for students from a university to come in and gawk at the towns and the people who live there. It’s an asset based approach, which means we are actively looking for and listening to what the community knows is working and building upon those things. 

I am hoping to come out of my introverted shell a little bit more and just get to know the people of Connellsville. As I have gotten older and continued through college, I have enjoyed talking to people more and more, especially strangers! But there’s still a fear there of just going up to someone and saying “hello!” So to have this opportunity to not just talk but connect with those who want the same things that we do, to allow for prosperity within the community, is a special opportunity. I want to help in a way that will be felt by the people of Fayette County, to show them that they are heard, respected, and worth it.