Hello! My name is Darya Wilson and I am a Sophomore majoring in History and minoring in Persian Language. I am also pursuing an African Studies and a Global Studies Certificate. Outside of the classroom, I am a Nationality Rooms tour guide, so you will often find me around the Cathedral of Learning. I am also a dog-sitter for the S.T.E.P. at Pitt program, which provides service dogs free of charge to those in need.

This semester I have the wonderful opportunity to be involved in the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI), which is an ongoing partnership between the University of Pittsburgh’s ACRI and Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The project’s goal is to advance economic development in Fayette County through working with the community to provide research, web content and local-centered business planning. This project also includes two visits to Fayette County to meet with members of the community and share research, as well as a trip to Washington D.C. to formally present our findings at the ACRI Symposium.

As a part of this project, students are paired with businesses in Fayette County, and work with them individually on research and the individual business’ desired deliverables. The business I am paired with is Traveler’s Reserves Cigar Co., which has yet to open, but plans to provide cigars to special events, as well as to golf courses. The owner is seeking to gain assistance primarily with developing a complete and scalable business model, financing, marketing, creating partnerships, and understanding legal and licensing requirements for their business.

My family owns a similar small business, one which I have been helping to run, especially on the marketing and partnerships side. I hope to continue helping to run my family’s business in the future. Similarly, I want to continue growing my marketing and communications skills, not only for the sake of my family’s business, but also because I believe they are applicable to most every career path. Through this ACRI project, I hope to learn how to communicate effectively with many different groups of people, as well as how to appeal to many different audiences, skills which will certainly aid me in my post-graduate life.

I feel this project is important, because it represents our university’s ongoing dedication to working with the community. I was shocked and impressed by the many resources made available to people in Fayette County through collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s ACRI, such as access to a lifelong learning program and classes on running a business. This project enables these resources to be given to business owners in Fayette County, which allows this unique area to thrive and grow with less stress put on the community.

I decided to join this project not only because of my knowledge and first-hand experience of the struggles of small businesses, but because I grew up working and volunteering in the West Virginia Appalachian Mountains. The soul of these smaller communities lies in the connections made with local people and small businesses, which can easily be lost with the intrusion of big businesses and lack of funds to sustain local initiatives. The ACRI program works to support local businesses, thus sustaining the core of these communities. I deeply value the contributions of local communities to our society, and thus hope to help bolster them by being a part of this project.