Professor, students honored by Pennsylvania Wilds

Dr. William Schumann, assistant professor of anthropology, and his students were honored last week by the Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative at its annual awards dinner held in St. Marys.

The students were chosen as the 2012 recipient of the organization’s Inspiring Youth Award.

Last year, Schumann and nine students started to tackle the problem of getting tourists using nearly 2,000 miles of trails into local communities so local businesses can benefit.

The students researched the best practices of existing trail towns around the country and held town hall meetings in four Pennsylvania Wilds communities near Pitt-Bradford. They led each presentation, explaining the trail town concept to the public, conducting surveys and collecting feedback on local trail town opportunities.

In December, the students shared their findings with the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the trail town research, Schumann and the ANF Visitors Bureau created an internship program that had students developing a series of trail applications to help advance local trail system development and promotion.

The Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative is a public-private effort that aims to grow the nature and heritage tourism industry across 12 ½ counties of rural Pennsylvania as a way to create jobs, diversify local economies, inspire stewardship and improve quality of life.

Students taking part in the projects were Ernest Benkovski, a history-political science major from Pittsburgh; Jennifer Crowley, a history-political science major from Great Valley, N.Y.; Ryan Crowley, a history-political science major from Bradford; Mara Kloss, a history-political science major from Bradford; Desiree Lamer, a criminal justice major from Bradford; Lauren Marshall, an English and history-political science major Lewis Run; Michael Morrison, a history-political science major from Plainfield, N.J.; Jenna Oyler, a human relations major from Kane; and Elizabeth Tillman, a human relations major from Appleton, N.Y. The students also had time to do some sightseeing in Washington.

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