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…
Tag: Fall 2023
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…
An Eventful Semester: Takeaways on Balancing School & Research
Conducting research is extremely challenging and requires lots of balance and forethought. I would say that my understanding of the process definitely changed during the semester. I was able to get better at probing further if my results did not make sense. I also learned how to organize my investigation in a manner that makes…
First Steps Into Research
I first became interested in research as a high school student. A couple of my friends had worked with professors from local universities and the work that they were doing was really interesting to me. I reached out to a couple of people nearby while in high school and spent a summer learning about what…
Math In The World & Why It Matters
Hi everyone! My name is Aashrit Cunchala. I am a double major in applied mathematics and data science looking to also minor in computer science and applied statistics expected to graduate in the spring of 2025. I’m in the Frederick Honors College and am currently considering an honors thesis in applied mathematics, specifically mathematical modeling….
CUTF Reflections
This semester has been a wonderful lesson in developing asynchronous content for my students. My previous experiences as a UTA for various subjects centered entirely around in-person instruction, helping people in class or in office hours. This time, my project forced me to think about how to teach concepts through the page. I have always…
Final Bows as a TA
As I gear up for my finals, I realize I’m studying differently. There’s a certain ease to understanding the structure of my classes that I honestly had never felt before I was a teaching assistant and had to construct my own class this semester. My understanding of teaching went through an evolution over the semester….