Group of 3 students working to help revitalize Greensburg

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A group of students are taking time to help revitalize Greensburg, and it’s part of a much larger project.

Trifol Headman, Jake Starek, and Sarah Gilliam are getting ready to present months’ worth of research to the city of Greensburg on Tuesday.

“What we’re doing is just trying to find ways to make Greensburg more attractive,” said Starek, a junior at Seton Hill University.

This research is part of the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative. Seton Hill was one of 13 schools, including Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh, chosen to look at their communities’ needs and what they can do to address them.

One of the biggest issues they’ve found in Greensburg is the number of empty storefronts in the city that could be used for good instead of sitting vacant.

“I think one of the most interesting things is seeing how many empty spaces there are, and how much potential there is in the city to grow and become an even bigger community,” said Gilliam, a senior.

“So we’re trying to find ways to fill those voids in Greensburg and try to bring more people to Greensburg so this could become a growing town again,” Starek added.

In their research so far, these three students at Seton Hill have found about six empty storefronts that could be converted into things like co-working spaces, private offices, startup businesses, and even healthcare education space.

Those are all things they think would be able to bring students and young adults to the Greensburg area and keep them here.

On Tuesday, they’ll be presenting their findings to the Greensburg Community Development Corporation in hopes of getting more people on board and starting the conversation to bring change.

“I do believe that this project will become a catalyst for the retention rate of students graduating in Greensburg,” said Headman, a junior. “Money is a big thing, people want to work where they’re getting paid well, and I do think this will boost the economy as a whole.”

This is the first time Seton Hill was selected for this initiative, and the students said they’re thankful because it allows students the opportunity to work directly with the community, they live in to make it a better place for all.

Once these students present their findings to the city of Greensburg, they’ll take it a step further and present it at a conference in Washington, D.C. in December.

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