Last weekend, I joined my cohort on a site visit to Fayette County, PA as part of our project with the Appalachian Collegiate Research Imitative (ACRI) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). As Fayette County is the key focus of our research, this visit provided us with insights into the state of the community, economic…
Category: ACRI
Making Connections in Fayette County
Our Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI) cohort had the pleasure of doing a site visit to Fayette County over the first weekend of October. We stayed at Touchstone Center for Crafts, a crafting center as well as a campground. We were able to visit a number of interesting places, such as the Youghiogheny Opalescent Glass…
ACRI: A Visit Home In a New Way
Going on the site visit to Fayette County was surreal for me because, being from there and coming for the weekend with my college class of people who had never been there showed me how different everyone perceives a place and helped show me new ways to look at my community. When exploring the community,…
Fayette County is Dreaming Big
Reflecting on my three-day class trip to Fayette County as part of the ACRI program, one thing became clear: meaningful service-learning requires immersing yourself in a community and listening to the real stories of its members. Coming into the weekend, my goal was to maintain an open-minded approach while eagerly experiencing the places we had…
People-Centered Reflections from Fayette County
On our three day visit to Fayette County, my first ever to this Pennsylvania county, I was extremely delighted to explore and delve into the people, communities, and places of the county. We explored much of Connellsville and parts of Uniontown on our visit, talking with people along the way. Our class stayed at Touchstone…
Fayette Visit One: What I Learned
It is no secret that rural settings are often considered an escape from the hustle-bustle of corporate-ladder centric urban centers. This inherently characterizes rural areas as lacking in economy, ingenuity, and drive. Upon arriving at Fayette County’s premier Summit Inn at exactly sunset over the Pennsylvanian foothills, it was transparent to me that this assumption…
Fayette County Site Visit
Recently, our class completed a 3-day site visit to Fayette County, visiting multiple locations in Uniontown and Connellsville. Memorable sites included the GAP Trail, the Penn State Fayette Coal and Coke Heritage Center, and the early workings of a black box theatre in Connellsville. The GAP Trail was the strongest community asset we saw on…
Site Visit to Fayette County
At the beginning of October, we completed the first step of community-engaged research: making contact. We traveled about an hour and a half, south to Fayette County to experience the place we have been familiarizing ourselves with since August. Prior to embarking, we investigated from the outside what assets Fayette County had. We talked about…
Fayette County Site Visit
Sitting atop an archaic coal empire, Fayette County enjoyed vast economic and social prosperity during the early 1900s. Over time, coke ovens went cold while the mines exhausted their final reserves. The affluent industries that once dominated the area’s economy quickly turned Fayette County into another post-industrial fall from grace, a pattern that has become…
First site visit to Fayette County
I found the trip to Fayette County to be very rewarding, informative, and beneficial to better understanding the community that we are working with. Coming in with little expectations and previous knowledge (other than the research we had done before) I was able to learn a lot and understand the community more. There were many…