After months of community-engaged work in Fayette County, Pitt’s team took off for the 25th-annual Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative conference last Friday, December 4th. From the beginning of the semester, I had highly anticipated this portion of the project, and it did not disappoint. Pitt was the second of 13 schools from all across Appalachia…
Author: Miriam Spak
Returning to Connellsville
On November 14th, approximately one month after Pitt’s Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative team visited Fayette County for the first time this semester, the big day came: it was time to present our deliverables to our stakeholders in Fayette County. Where the Sustainability, Business, and Urban Studies-Political Science groups had previously been working independently and with…
Fayette County: First Impressions
At the beginning of October, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Fayette County with Pitt’s Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI) cohort. Alongside my urban studies-political science group were teams from the business and sustainability departments, and it was great to spend time collaborating on and refining both our respective projects and overarching…
Getting Started in Fayette County: ACRI Introduction
Hi! My name is Miriam Spak, and I’m a first-year in Pitt’s Dietrich School studying Politics and Philosophy. I’m hoping to minor in Slovak Studies and earn a certificate in Sustainability. Outside of the classroom, I work at a local independent bookstore, go to as many concerts as my bank account will allow, and take…