The final deliverables that the business cohort, consisting of myself, Franny and Ava, focused on supporting the Connellsville Entrepreneurship and Education Center. This newly constructed building aims to serve as a community resource for education and job training to boost economic prospects in the region. Though spacious modern classrooms were built, there was a need…
Tag: Fall 2023
Connellsville, DC, and everything in between
Our first trip to Connellsville, earlier in the semester, was more so about gathering knowledge and, almost like a detective, getting a feel for the community and its residents. The second trip on the 17th of November was all business: one afternoon to present our deliverables to everyone who would listen. We made our triumphant…
ACRI – The Semester in Review
The ACRI team had a busy semester; we were able to accomplish some important work for a special place in Fayette County. Breaking into groups based on our different academic programs, there were four focus areas that produced their own results. The business cohort researched the needs of local entrepreneurs using surveys and interviews, then…
Final Thoughts on Fayette County, Community-Engaged Research, and the ACRI
As the Fall 2023 semester has just come to an end, it is time that I share my thoughts about the Realizing Regional Resilience Pitt ACRI project. To start, I could have never foreseen how connected I would feel to purpose and community from this class. I decided to take this honors add-on course to…
ACRI – Delivering Our Work
On November 17, I traveled to Connellsville with the rest of the ACRI team to deliver our research results to a group of community stakeholders. We were thrilled to have a great turnout and enjoy the lunch they prepared for us at the Canteen. The presentation itself was excellent; all of our preparation in the…
Final Blog Post
The final deliverable we created surround educational resources. We found from our interviews that although high school students had access to a lot of various educational assets at the high schools in Fayette County, they lacked a comprehensive idea of the various majors and career options available to them. There is a common theme of…
Summarizing My Experience with ACRI
My sustainability capstone group focused on three main deliverables throughout our semester working on our Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative project. The first of these focused on educating high school students on career options for them post-graduation that are available in Fayette County, both for those who continue on to college and those who pursue a…
From Connellsville, PA, to Washington, D.C.: Sharing our ACRI Research Findings
Hello again Pitt Honors Blog! It has been a while since I have updated you all on the 2023 Pitt cohort of the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative. The past month has been a whirlwind of excitement and hard work as we prepared two presentations about our work this semester. To review, the Realizing Regional Resilience…
Presentation reflections
The 11/17 presentation in Connellsville was a great experience. Being able to share our findings directly to the people it is impacting and receive feedback really fueled the progress with our project. Preparing for this presentation was a lot of work. The preparation needed for this presentation provided a multifaceted approach to personal and professional…
Final Reflections on the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative
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,…