Greensburg's welcome event works to connect college students with local community

Students at three area colleges and universities will have the opportunity this fall to meet with Greensburg-based organizations and get a tour of the city during Greensburg’s first welcome event.

Scheduled for Sept. 24, the event will bring students from Seton Hill University, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Westmoreland County Community College together to listen to live music, enjoy food, wine and beer from area vendors and to meet with local organizations like the Blackburn Center, which often offers internships to students.

“We’re trying to connect the students and faculty and the institutions’ population to the life of the city, because the city has a life,” said Jeff Raykes, city planning director, who is involved with planning of the event. “There’s things happening all the time in the city.”

This is the first time the city is hosting this type of event for students.

According to Raykes, discussions surrounding the welcome event began in 2019, and a committee was formed with city and university leaders who initially planned to host it in 2020. However, the covid-19 pandemic caused the event to eventually be canceled.

Now, as events reopen and life inches toward normalcy, city officials are hopeful they can show students what Greensburg has to offer during their four years in the area.

The other goal, Raykes said, is to connect residents to work being done at the institutions. That, in turn, could help residents welcome college students into the community.

“For smaller communities like this one, it’s a big part of our economy, it’s a big part of how the city functions, and that’s valuable,” Raykes said.

Participating colleges and universities expressed support for the event along with hopes that it will continue in future years.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the City of Greensburg and the other colleges in planning this event to welcome back our students,” said Susan Isola, spokeswoman for Pitt Greensburg. “We are very proud to be part of this wonderful community, and we look forward to seeing the event continue to grow as a tradition sprouts from this inaugural event.”

Julie Greathouse, director of student success at Westmoreland County Community College, said the school is happy to partner with the city and other area institutions.

“Our students are part of this community, and as a community college it is foundational to our mission that our institution is present and around the table,” Greathouse said. “We all succeed when we support one another.”

Raykes added that by introducing students to city life, they might express interest in staying in the region after graduation. Finding ways to get students to stay in Westmoreland County has been a push for years as both the county and the region report aging and declining populations.

Other initiatives, including Westmoreland Community Action’s Welcome Everyone Westmoreland project, have centered around making nonwhite residents and college students feel more welcome in the county.

“I think this is where engagement becomes so important … is if they can create these moments of inclusion and where people feel (part) of the community,” Raykes said.

The welcome event is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Pitt/Penn lot along South Pennsylvania Avenue.