Business Students to Help Champion Westmoreland’s Natural Beauty

For the fourth consecutive year, Seton Hill was selected to be a participant in the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI), an applied research training program for college students in the Appalachian region to support economic development initiatives for their communities.

This year Seton Hill will be building on their history of collaboration with the Westmoreland Land Trust, who will be the project partner for the ACRI initiative. This year’s initiative is led by Associate Professor of Communication Catie Clark-Gordon with support from Assistant Professor of Business Lyzona Marshall (who has previously served as project lead), and Associate Professor of Marketing Rachel Kaplan. Three undergraduate students – Catie Flohr, Alayna Marion, and Gabriela Torregroso Nazario – will help bring the initiative’s objectives to life with assistance from other business majors.

The primary goal of the project, titled “Trails to Prosperity,” is to reposition Westmoreland’s nature preserves as vital an economic driver in the region, through digital storytelling and the development of eco-tourism itineraries that drive traffic to local businesses, with the Westmoreland Land Trust as a central economic anchor.

The communication team will focus on creating "Pathmaker Profiles" to help to put local faces on the organization’s mission of land conservation. They will be conducting interviews with the "Pathmakers" of Westmoreland Land Trust, including volunteers, board members, neighboring property owners, and trail users and use video, photos and graphics to create social media content.

An additional focus of the project is on developing tangible "Eco-Tourism Itineraries" for different types of visitors that link Land Trust properties to the broader local economy including cafes, outfitters, and historic sites. To accomplish this work, a "Hackathon" will be hosted this fall where students will work in small teams to develop these itineraries with the MarComm (Marketing & Communications) club and Integrated Marketing Communication and Principles of Marketing classes participating.

Further initiatives will provide kiosk trailhead signage, integrating QR codes to allow visitors to access the digital materials and promote their organization and offer valuable marketing and economic data to the Land Trust at no cost to them.

“We are contributing to an economy where conservation and commerce are not in conflict, but in partnership,” Clark-Gordon said. “By showing visitors exactly where to eat, shop, and stay after their hike, we turn a ‘walk in the woods’ into a sustainable economic transaction for Westmoreland County.”

In December, Seton Hill will join students and faculty from 15 other Appalachian schools in Arlington, Va., to present their work to other student delegations from participating institutions, Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) leadership, and community leaders in a formal peer-to-peer conference setting hosted by ARC and the Consortium of Appalachian Colleges and Universities. The ACRI has been held every year since 2001, with more than 3,200 students participating from 34 colleges and universities in 12 Appalachian states. This unique program provides invaluable leadership training for students, while connecting universities, communities, and the ARC across our region.

Additionally, the communication team will travel to the Eastern Communication Association Convention March 30 - April 4, 2027, in Reston, Va., to present this work.

Other ACRI participating schools included Alfred State College, Bluefield State University, East Tennessee State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marietta College, Marshall University, Ohio University, State University of New York at Oneonta, University of North Georgia, University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech University, and West Liberty University.