Belmark同事 奎恩·布伦纳，21岁 (far left) 和 萨尔玛·穆罕默德·阿里21岁 (far right), surveyed 和 collected data on Beloit neighborhoods as part of a partnership with ACTS Housing. 该组织正在把租房者变成房主.

It was a summer of knocking on doors for 十大菠菜台子 students 奎恩·布伦纳，21岁 和 萨尔玛·穆罕默德·阿里21岁问陌生人一些非常私人的问题. 充满热情和频繁的冰淇淋休息时间, the two canvassed Beloit neighborhoods on a mission to help h和 over house keys to new homeowners.

从租房到拥有自己的房子并不容易, especially in the low-to-moderate income Beloit neighborhoods of Merrill 和 Hackett.

这就是Acts Housing呼吁的原因 Belmark同事 和 the expertise of door-knocking community organizer Brunner 和 data-crunching wiz Ali to gather information in 2019. 贝洛伊特二人组开发了 地方感调查 used to transform rental neighborhoods into owner-occupied housing 和 create healthy, 安全, 繁荣的社区.

阿里，那么 经济学 major undergrad, saw the project as a way to go beyond Excel spreadsheets 和 dig in deeper. “It was a chance to get to know the community beyond 十大菠菜台子 和 that I could do something to improve the community阿里说。.

But would the data that Brunner 和 Ali collected help transform renters into homeowners, 创造一个强大的, 充满活力的社区?

贝尔马克之路 

In 1985, three savvy 十大菠菜台子 经济学 students founded Belmark同事, 一个由学生管理的市场研究组织, to provide professional services to clients 和 bring real-life job credentials to their resumes.

贝尔马克人与当地企业合作, 非营利组织, 民间团体, 政府官员, 运用分析和数据收集技能为客户提供信息. 伯洛伊特学院的经济学教授和 名人 教师帮助指导学生.

“Belmark同事 students have the opportunity to get some real work experience on their resume during the academic year,” 劳拉还08年, 贝尔马克协会顾问和经济学教授.

From surveying visitors at the Beloit Farmers Market to creating an annual report of the economic characteristics of the 10-mile radius around Beloit’s city center, Belmark同事为客户创造了成果.

2019年，ACTS Housing在伯洛伊特落地, the non-profit organization needed to find out what residents in low-to-moderate income households thought about their neighborhoods. The big question was if they saw themselves transitioning from renters to homeowners. ACTS的目标是让数百名租房者成为房主, 使用修复的旧房子和回收, 止赎房产.

That’s when Brunner 和 Ali stepped in 和 became the first Belmark同事 to work with ACTS Housing.

“The project allowed me to be involved in all stages of a research project: meeting with clients, 头脑风暴如何回答一个问题, 开展调查, 收集调查回应, 输入和清理数据, 数据分析, 并在报告中展示我们的发现阿里说。.

Quin Brunner'21 enthusiastically used his community organizer skills on the Belmark同事-ACTS Housing project.布鲁尼尔 skills in developing a better campus community (Buccaneer Boathouse 和 the 自行车共享计划) were a great match when it came to greeting people 和 getting them comfortable enough to answer questions.

“他们是一个完美的团队，”格鲁伯说. 奎因喜欢走到社区里，挨家挨户敲门. 萨尔玛是那个给我数据的人.”

ACTS Housing President 和 CEO Michael Gosman was intrigued by partnering with 十大菠菜台子 students to gather information to underst和 residents’ perceptions of their neighborhoods.

“We are most impressed with the quality of students working in the program 和 their ability to credibly knock on doors 和 get residents to share their thoughts about their neighborhoods,戈斯曼说。.

在三年内, hundreds of people in the Merrill 和 Hackett neighborhoods have become homeowners through ACTS Housing, 而伯洛伊特学院的学生也参与其中.

Brunner 和 Ali presented the survey findings to ACTS Housing 和 city stakeholders, 贝洛伊特商会, 和伯洛伊特经济发展公司, 并得到了大家的称赞.

“Belmark同事 students provided a useful analysis of that surveying as we aspire to help residents improve their lives through homeownership, 反过来, 改善邻里环境,戈斯曼说。.

伯洛伊特学院是一个巨大的沙盒 

Belmark同事-ACTS住宅项目, 阿里说, honed her quantitative 和 qualitative skills 和 built confidence in public speaking, 解决问题, 和写作. The best part, she says, was working with a great team of passionate students 和 professors.

这个项目不仅改变了艾莉对自己的看法, 但在研究生的世界里，别人会怎么看她, that’s why she recommends Belmark同事 to 十大菠菜台子 students.

“The experience will give you a taste of real-world market research/consultancy projects 和 can make you a better-prepared c和idate when you apply to internships, 工作, 研究生院, 等.阿里说。. “If you’re looking to challenge yourself 和 improve your skills, 这是一个绝佳的机会.”

阿里是经济学博士.D. student at Georgia State University-Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Her resume spotlights internships at Hendricks CareerTek 和 Filene Research Institute.

As the assistant director of annual giving/development at the College of Wooster, Brunner calls his Belmark同事 work the most meaningful of his 十大菠菜台子 years.

“伯洛伊特学院是一个巨大的沙盒 where a student has all the resources 和 mentors to help them build anything they want,布伦纳说. “这就是贝尔马克公司，这就是我来贝洛伊特的原因.”