UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s “Stories from the Field” conversation series is returning this fall with two new sessions. Topics will include a youth development program that stemmed from a football field revitalization project and a health clinic that provides care in medically underserved areas.

Organizers noted that the aim of the series is to explore the “why” and “how” of community engagement and applied research, including why people approach their work the way they do and how it looks and feels on the ground. Each session will be interactive, and participants are invited to ask questions and share insights from their own experiences.

The series, which will take place via Zoom, is free and open to anyone interested in attending, including undergraduate and graduate students. Registration is required.

More than a football field: youth-driven transformation in Pittsburgh

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 30
Time: noon to 1 p.m.
Featured speakers: Michael White, education program specialist in energy, business and community vitality; Jeffrey Fowler, senior horticulture educator; and Matthew Crutchman, 4-H youth educator, all with Penn State Extension

This session will focus on the Westinghouse Youth Project, a dynamic initiative that empowers youth to thrive and expand their horizons. What began as an effort to revitalize a school's football field evolved into a youth-driven transformation that has resulted in the new Westinghouse field, as well as workforce development and other positive youth development programs.

The speakers will share stories about how the project began, what they have learned and where the project might be headed in the future.

Register for the Oct. 30 session.

Where the rubber meets the road: Service, education, and research aboard the LION Mobile Clinic

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 20
Time: noon to 1 p.m.
Featured speakers: Kristina Brant, assistant professor of rural sociology, and Michael McShane, assistant professor of medicine and director of LION Mobile Clinic, both at Penn State

This session will revolve around the LION Mobile Clinic, a health clinic that provides health care in medically underserved areas, educates current medical students, and incorporates community-engaged research.

Speakers will discuss how the team's unique hybrid of research and service has enabled them to build trust with communities, adapt the clinic to respond to community-identified needs, spur deeper university-community partnerships, and produce research that informs broader understandings of rural health.

Register for the Nov. 20 session.

The series is hosted by Penn State’s Center for Economic and Community Development, an applied research center dedicated to strengthening local and regional development in Pennsylvania and beyond. The center is housed in the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education.

All “Stories from the Field” sessions are recorded. Previous event recordings are available online.