Wooster, Holmes groups get solutions from College of Wooster students

WOOSTER Following a remote program last summer, Applied Methods and Research Experience students at the College of Wooster were able to present their research in person this summer and present results that provide solutions for some local organizations.

The eight-week summer research program “provides advisory services to businesses, the public sector and non-profit organizations,” according to the program’s 2020 annual report.

John Ramsay, professor emeritus at the College of Wooster and now co-director of AMRE, started the program 28 years ago with six students and two clients. Ramsay hoped to teach math and computer science students how to apply these skills in real-life situations, said Vikki Briggs, co-director of the AMRE program.

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“It’s the ultimate community engagement,” said Ramsay. “We work with companies and non-profit organizations [it] really provides a context for things like that. ”

AMRE students work in teams on topics for companies

More than 400 students have participated in the program, with around 185 projects completed since its inception, with some of the students coming from Ashesi University, a private, non-profit university in Ghana.

After the expansion in recent years, around 30 students are selected each summer, usually in teams of two to four students doing research on topics for a variety of business customers.

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“In some years we have a lot of community projects that may have overlapping interests or people who are interested in many of them,” Briggs said. “We had a project a few years ago that looked at welfare, low-income housing, and homelessness in Wayne County, and a Wayne County workforce project.”

This year the students completed 12 projects with 11 different companies and organizations in Ohio and even abroad, with the first projects in the program coming from Ghana. These customers included large companies like ACME Fresh Market and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Some groups worked with local organizations to review any problems they were experiencing.

Project 2021: Supporting dog owners in complying with the license regulations

A project led by Seniors Sarah Brunot and Katherine Yordy reviewed public opinion about licensing their dogs in the Wayne and Holmes counties and ways to increase the number of licensed dogs.

Brunot and Yordy found that unlicensed dog owners don’t have one for a variety of reasons. For example, some first-time dog owners were unaware that a license was required because their dog was microchipped. Others felt that a license would be too expensive or too time-consuming.

“Many dog ​​owners do not know that if their dog is found at large without a tag and is picked up and taken to the dog home, the dog can be adopted within 48 hours,” said Brunot. “… And [if] They don’t want their dog to be adopted among them, it might be a good idea to license their dog. ”

To resolve issues and increase dog admissions in both counties, Brunot and Yordy suggested ways to reach out to the public, form local partnerships, and extend the timeframe for obtaining a license from December to March.

Brunot and Yordy offered both virtual or online outreach options such as Facebook ads and email campaigns, as well as physical or printed options such as posters, billboards, door knockers and advertisements in print publications. Other forms of contact they suggested were partnering with organizations such as the Holmes County Bookmobile, local Boy Scout and Boy Scout troops, and the College of Wooster.

By offering options, Yordy and Brunot Hope organizations in both counties can review how people learn of licensing and determine which options are best for them and their community.

Tourism in Holmes County

Another project focused on what tourism is like in Holmes County and who visits it.

Three students worked on the project: College of Wooster Senior Mahi Lal and Junior Caitlyn Denes and Senior Hephzibah Emereole, who visited virtually through Ashesi University.

“Our first challenge was to actually understand how people define tourism and what a tourist is,” said Lal. “… We have tourism, or what we think tourism should be defined as anyone who spends money in Holmes County [who is] from outside of Holmes County. ”

They also looked at housing costs and business sales to see how much revenue the county generates from tourism.

The group compared their findings to a county with similar demographics in Pennsylvania, but noted that more research is needed.

“This project is just a starting point, but it lays the foundation for the direct impact of tourism,” said Lal. “And then anyone could take part in this study and then acquire these different technologies … that specifically study tourism and get the full, real-life impact of tourism.”

Increasing college connection with the city of Wooster

A third group of students focused on the College of Wooster’s connection with the city and provided opportunities for local organizations to strengthen them through student groups and internships.

College seniors Spencer Gaitsch and Audrey Holder investigated the interruption and found that it was partly due to an outdated website and lack of centralized information.

“There isn’t a single website or person on campus that a student or anyone else could go to to find all the information they need to get involved,” said Gaitsch. “Also, the online information on the College of Wooster website is insufficient for the role it was supposed to play.”

Gaitsch and Holder suggested creating a new website for student groups and adding a body that would oversee service and civic engagement organizations.

The website is already in the works, said Gaitsch. On-campus and off-campus groups could benefit from having “one point person” that students, faculty, and community members could turn to for information.

Gaitsch and Holder also suggested student internships through non-profit organizations.

Holder and Gaitsch spoke to several groups and found seven prospects, including the Wayne Center for the Arts, Viola Startzman Clinic, the Immigrant Worker Project, and United Way.

Findings from the projects

Although it was rigorous, the AMRE project was a learning experience for the students.

“Among other things, we learned that this is incredibly interesting and that we really enjoyed our time at AMRE,” said Gaitsch. “… These are lifelong skills, well beyond the senior year, that we will benefit from elsewhere. ”

“It has been very rewarding for all of us and I hope our results are reason enough for Holmes County to investigate further,” said Denes.

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