Across the commonwealth, Virginia Cooperative Extension natural reomes, work, land, and communities. That work ranges from helping families test their drinking water and reduce childhood lead exposure to improving logger safety and connecting Virginians with the health benefits of outdoor volunteerism
The work makes a difference. But demonstrating that difference clearly, especially in economic terms, can be hard. This spring, four graduate assistants helped bridge that gap
Working through the Center for Economic and Community Engagement (CECE), part of Outreach and International Affairs, the students partnered with Extension faculty to develop a guidebook to help natural reproject gave Extension a new tool for demonstrating its impact while giving the students experience managing a consequential project for a client
“We were looking to bolster our understanding of economic impact for some of our Extension efforts in natural reartment of Biological Systems Engineering. “We felt CECE would have expertise that would complement what we were doing and help us tell a better story about why our programming makes an impact and why it matters.”
The project offers a ground-level view of a much larger picture. In fiscal year 2025, Virginia Tech generated $4.7 billion in economic impact across Virginia through education, research, outreach, and service. The guidebook will help Extension faculty more clearly document how individual programs improve lives and strengthen communities across the commonwealth
Ling coordinates the Virginia Household Water Quality Program and serves as Extension’s associate initiative leader for natural reive Director John Provo about the project, which became an opportunity for graduate assistants to apply their skills through work rooted in Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission
“Being embedded in communities all over Virginia and beyond, we have a lot of power to reach individual people who might not otherwise have a connection to the university and the land-grant system,” Ling said. “I take seriously our responsibility to help improve people’s lives around the commonwealth. Being able to document when that happens and how it happens is important for us to increase our relevance for the future.”
The students — Victoria Blackham, Katie Lee, Makenzie Mann, and Caroline Redell — were enrolled in Virginia Tech’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. Through CECE, they worked on applied projects connecting university expertise with the needs of communities and organizations across Virginia
For the Extension project, the students reviewed reports, researched the work of other Extension organizations, interviewed faculty members, and helped facilitate a workshop with seven faculty members whose work focuses on water quality, logging, and natural re
Their final guidebook included best practices and suggested calculations that Extension faculty can use to better describe the value of their programs to communities, partners, and funders
“Graduate assistants with CECE work on a variety of projects,” said Elli Travis, associate director for impact and evaluation at CECE, who supervised the students. “They learn what it’s like to collaborate with a client. They come to understand what it’s like to work as a team and how to tackle challenges and obstacles that arise along the way.”
For the students, those challenges were part of the lesson
Mann and Lee graduated in May with master’s degrees in urban and regional planning. Blackham and Redell recently completed their first year in the program
“A lot of the time, graduate assistants are in a supporting role, but this is the first time all four of us really took the lead,” Mann said. “We had to figure things out on the fly and overcome hurdles on our own.”
The experience helped the students build skills in research, project management, workshop facilitation, and client communication that they expect to carry into their careers.
Lee, who accepted a job as an environmental planner with WSP, said the project helped her better understand how organizations communicate their impact in tangible, useful ways
“I felt like I understood more deeply the challenges that economic specialists experience in our office,” Lee said. “Creating a final deliverable for a client was challenging, which I found gratifying because this type of work is closer to what we will do as professionals.”
Mann, who will work as a transportation planner for Mead & Hunt, said the project gave her direct experience that many students do not have before entering the workforce
“People who are leaving grad school and entering the workforce don’t always have that experience with direct client management and project management,” she said. “Having an experience like this on our resumes gives us a competitive edge.”
For Ling, the project also created a model that could help other Extension faculty members think more intentionally about impact, and she plans to bring more into the conversation
“I’m hopeful that this approach can be a template that we can use with other groups of Extension folks to encourage us to slow down and have these conversations about collective impact and economic benefit, making sure we prioritize thinking about the big picture,” Ling said
The project continues CECE’s long-running practice of pairing graduate students with real community and organizational challenges. Past student-led projects have included work with the historic Star Theatre in Stuart, the Wonder Universe children’s museum, the Rural Retreat historic train depot, and Downtown Christiansburg Inc
Contact:
540-231-4691
