易胜博官网

Sometimes hands-on learning means momentarily losing feeling in your fingertips.

Such was the case for nearly a dozen 易胜博官网 students during a particularly bitter morning in the spring, as they canvased downtown Farmington to complete a for a capstone course in community and environmental planning in partnership with .

The students snapped hundreds of photos 鈥� the camera in professor Mary Friedman鈥檚 iPhone briefly froze in the frosty conditions 鈥� and documented their overall impressions en route to creating a comprehensive presentation that they ultimately delivered to the Farmington board of selectmen, offering suggestions on how to beautify the downtown and make it more pedestrian-friendly in hopes of attracting new residents and satisfying current ones.

For the students, many of whom intend to work in the municipal planning and development realm, the opportunity to partner with a local community provided an invaluable chance to escape the traditional learning environment and perhaps be at the forefront of a downtown revitalization that could have their 鈥� albeit icy 鈥� fingerprints all over it.

Applying Concepts to the Real World

鈥淭here鈥檚 a big difference between learning in the classroom and applying that knowledge in the real world,鈥� says Zac Fangman 鈥�19. 鈥淏eing off-campus offered a unique learning experience that prepared me for aspects of a career in planning that aren鈥檛 always covered in a classroom, like interacting with citizens and experiencing communities first-hand.鈥�

Such is precisely the goal of Friedman鈥檚 capstone class, which is designed to allow students to apply the knowledge they鈥檝e gained from fundamental coursework to the real world through areas like data collection and analysis, reporting, presenting and more.

鈥淭his experience was really cool for me because I have a background in the more theoretical side of economics, so it was great to apply it here and really see how it can affect average people鈥檚 lives and how you can use a lot of the theory that you know in a really applicable way,鈥� says Zachary Kay 鈥�19.

Friedman partners with Extension to find local municipalities in need of such assistance, and Extension acts as 鈥渢he bridge between the students and the town鈥� to get the process moving, says Molly Donovan, community economic development state specialist with Extension.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to tell who is more excited about that exchange, the students or the community members,鈥� quips Donovan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really bringing it all together 鈥� it reminds us that Extension is here to bring the best part of the university and student work out to communities and allow us to be teaching in towns alongside community members and students. So it鈥檚 the very best of our work.鈥�

And there鈥檚 certainly plenty of work that goes into it. For Donovan, who develops relationships with local towns and determines which ones are in a place where an assessment makes sense before connecting them with Friedman, and also for the students, who in this case met with town officials prior to putting any boots on the ground and later returned for the First Impression Survey, a parking survey, and the presentation to the selectmen.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to learn concepts and material, but allowing students the opportunity to apply what they鈥檝e learned gives you a totally different understanding,鈥� says Jonathan Gagne 鈥�20. 鈥淚t made the work we were doing much more meaningful knowing we could be creating something that would be seen and potentially utilized by a local community.鈥�

Added Jessica Bighinatti 鈥�19: 鈥淭alking to local residents is exciting because you get to learn so much about what is important to them, and what they are really proud of in their community. It鈥檚 great to know that our research and work will benefit a small town and its citizens in many ways.鈥�

Presenting Recommendations

The First Impression Survey was the largest undertaking, resulting in a 71-slide PowerPoint presentation that was delivered to the selectmen last May along with suggestions for how to beautify and revitalize the downtown area.

The students examined everything from displays and signage to landscaping and lighting, parks and points of interest and sidewalks, crosswalks and trails. The end result wasn鈥檛 to suggest any drastic overhauls but rather to encourage small upgrades and touches throughout the downtown that will add up to a more aesthetic overall picture.

鈥淎 major thing I took away was how all of the recommendations we presented were not very extravagant,鈥� Jade Long says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just sticking to basics when it comes to the visual aesthetic and leaving a good first impression. It鈥檚 simple things 鈥� the paint looking well-kept, the green spaces being maintained. I don鈥檛 think a community needs extravagant or expensive things to look like a great community.鈥�

Farmington agrees. One of the most beneficial characteristics of the student feedback is that it matched up extremely well with what board members had already heard from town residents, Angela Hardin, chair of the Economic Development Committee and Downtown Revitalization Committee, says.

It was particularly helpful given the age demographic from which the feedback came.

鈥淲hat it did for us primarily is reinforce what we had already heard from the townspeople,鈥� says Hardin. 鈥淚t was nice to hear that from somebody outside, that they kind of see things the way we see things. It鈥檚 an outside perspective, from a generation that we want to see move to Farmington in larger numbers. Thing they saw as assets 鈥� like the historic look and feel 鈥� we can use that to reinforce exactly what the community is saying, to strengthen that argument.鈥�

Learning Experience For All

Official implementation of any suggestions will take some time, Hardin noted, as any changes would require additional presentations to and sign-off from town boards. But almost all of the suggestions the students made were received positively.

That certainly showed in the way the 易胜博官网 cohort was received. Local businesses welcomed the students with open arms, offering them pizza and soda as they conducted their research. And Friedman wandered over to investigate a growing crowd outside of one municipal building only to discover it was a monthly community supper 鈥� which she immediately received an invitation to.

That experience 鈥� of witnessing the innerworkings of a living, breathing community 鈥� is the most rewarding part of the process for the students, Friedman said. And it has pretty significant tangible results when it comes to the next steps after 易胜博官网.

鈥淵ou can see the whole spectrum, because they come in as freshmen and they鈥檙e so young, and to see them develop professionally, it鈥檚 heartwarming,鈥� Friedman says. 鈥淭hey come in as kids, but they really do leave as professionals.鈥�

Added Long, who intends to work in the planning field: 鈥淎 class like this makes you feel better about yourself, that you鈥檙e trying to help other people. A lot of classes don鈥檛 really get to that feeling with just lectures and tests. This gives you that experience and knowledge that you would never have gained otherwise.鈥�