Hello! My name is Leena, and I am a senior student at Pitt Business studying marketing with a digital media certificate and global distinction. This is my last semester at Pitt, and my fourth global experience program, and I’m excited to be wrapping up my time with a meaningful consulting project like this one as well as trying a regional study-away program. One fun fact about me is that I love all things travel and learning about different cultures, especially internationally, and so I’ve been to 20 countries (and counting) so far, spanning 4 continents!

This year’s ACRI project, in partnership with the Fayette County Cultural Trust (FCCT), is based around the nonprofit’s STEPP Forward program, which provides training on essential business development practices for small business owners and entrepreneurs in the area. As a student group, our class will be working with individual business owners/entrepreneurs completing the training program to support them with secondary research for the development of their final business plans. By doing so, we will free up some time for them to work on the rest of their business plans while also working with them to determine what else they may need help with and assisting a local business in need. This is important because the Fayette County region is currently trying to improve economic development, with many younger residents leaving the area due to lacking higher education and job opportunities and then never returning. By creating an environment where small businesses not only start but actually thrive with the proper resources, this initiative will be able to incentivize more spending at local spots and benefit the overall community. 

I’m so happy to be part of that team, and hope that this program will have lasting impact for the participants, who can then use the knowledge gained to run their businesses successfully and even apply for the grant opportunity offered for those who complete the business plan within a certain timeframe. The success of this cohort would then hopefully also spread the word further about this program, and with greater awareness even more entrepreneurs may be encouraged to follow their ideas and gain better insights to help them execute it better. Initially, I pursued the Appalachian Bridges program because I wanted not only consulting experience but to also make an impact with the work I was involved with, which is something that is really meaningful to me. The reaches of this project will definitely benefit the community by building towards long-term economic growth, and I’m proud to be contributing to that one step at a time!

My current goals professionally are to work in the marketing field, ideally in the healthcare industry. I’ve done two previous internships with a pharmaceutical company and gotten to work with patients and doctors to get people the drugs they need, and knowing there is a helpful purpose behind the marketing I do is super motivating for me personally. After that experience, plus previously doing a similar project to this one for a special education nonprofit in Bolivia, I definitely am seeking out opportunities to make sure my knowledge and skill set as a business student goes beyond just selling products to people. Volunteerism and giving back are major values of mine and that sane attitude is intertwined with all of the work I’ve done so far, so that career path seemed like a natural fit! The Appalachia program also fits well in the sense that there is still that community involvement alongside business development, and the small business I am working with on the project is in the Wellness & Recreation sector, which aligns with my more health-focused interests too. 

By being involved in this program, I’ll get to strengthen professional and academic competencies like communication, presentation skills, research, writing reports, active listening, and more with real-world application, which will help me become more marketable for future careers. As for the specific aspects I’m hoping to improve for myself, one thing I want to gain is a greater understanding in dealing with domestic cultural differences, especially in the rural vs urban sense, since most of my previous experience with this comes from international settings and I don’t know as much about rural communities and their unique attitudes and approaches to things in the US. I’m also looking to expand my teamwork and leadership skills working within my group, since I do bring previous consulting project experience and can act as a resource for the team in some situations, but also haven’t dealt with such a large team from different academic backgrounds, so navigating that dynamic will be a welcome challenge.