I worked on a team with two other Pitt students, Kayla and Maggie, within the larger Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative cohort throughout this semester. My team members and I worked on this initiative as our project for the Sustainability Capstone class. This project was no easy feat and it required extensive communication and hard work,…
Tag: Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative
From County Canteens to Capitol Conferences: A Journey of Presentations and Impact
This semester, I had the enriching opportunity to collaborate with several other students from diverse interdisciplinary backgrounds as part of the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative. Our collective efforts were dedicated to fostering economic development in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Engaging in community-based research throughout the semester, we delved into various aspects of the local economy, aiming…
Closing ACRI Remarks
As a business major, I was put into a cohort with two other business students. Our main deliverable was to write up professional and educational training programs for the new Entrepreneurial & Educational Center in Connellsville, PA to provide to the community. Our first step was to do research about the Appalachian Region, specifically Fayette…
Connellsville to DC; Experiences, Lessons, and Conclusions.
This semester, I had the privilege of working with a cross-disciplinary team of 11 Pitt students to enhance economic development in the Appalachian Region, specifically in Fayette County. The work we have done this semester has led to two main events. First, our November 17th presentation to residents, small business owners, and political figures in…
Community Engagement Plan
Outlined below is a series of deliverables presented by the inaugural business cohort of the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative at the University of Pittsburgh: The entrepreneurial landscape in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, has the potential to undergo a transformative shift with the implementation of a series of innovative deliverables aimed at empowering local small businesses. At the…
Rural Appalachia -> Washington DC
On November 17th, our ACRI cohort traveled to Fayette County to present our semester long project to community leaders in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. The CBA, sustainability, urban studies and political science groups spent weeks compiling our work into a presentation tailored to the Connellsville audience, an audience that worked and lived the experiences we were speaking…
Community Research in Fayette County
Last weekend, our ACRI cohort traveled to Fayette County to explore community assets in Connellsville and Uniontown. We were able to meet with incredibly engaged community members, all of which were passionate about both the businesses they ran and the individuals that their businesses supported. The CBA, sustainability, urban studies and political science groups spent…
ACRI 2: Learning from Fayette
The fall semester is now halfway over, and our ACRI project is well underway. We have learned a great deal about the communities of Fayette County, most notably from our site visit October 12th-14th. This visit allowed us to talk to community members face-to-face and experience some of what the county has to offer. We stayed…
Fostering Community Engagement and Economic Development: Insights from Fayette County
Last weekend, the ACRI cohort visited Fayette County, Pennsylvania to conduct community-based research. This trip proved to be invaluable. We were able to meet with a plethora of community members, many of which were very involved with their local community. Our visit encompassed the towns of Uniontown, Connellsville, and Brownsville. Each individual group spent the…
Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative
Hello everyone! My name is Franny Adams (she/her), I am a sophomore at Pitt’s College of Business Administration majoring in Finance and Business Analytics, minoring in Economics and pursuing a certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Outside of the classroom, I work as a Professional Development Consultant in the Career Development Office editing student’s resumes, conducting…