More than a dozen UConn students put Hartford under the microscope this semester, assessing the city\u2019s strengths, scrutinizing its shortcomings, and strategizing ways to increase its vibrancy.<\/p>\n
Among their recommendations:
\n\u2022\tHelp the capital city build a richer night life;
\n\u2022\tCreate an event-planning office to recruit national conventions, concerts and festivals;
\n\u2022\tOffer tax incentives for companies willing to open a large grocery store in the city, which is now considered a \u2018food desert\u2019; and
\n\u2022\tDevelop a marketing internship program, employing students from multiple local colleges and universities, to market and promote Hartford businesses.<\/p>\n
Although the majority of the students enrolled in UConn\u2019s \u2018BUILD Hartford\u2019 course grew up in Connecticut, many in neighboring suburbs, they all said they didn\u2019t know much about the city, and had spent little time in Hartford, until this semester.<\/p>\n
Sydney Cunningham<\/strong>, a management major who grew up in Guilford, plans to own her own business one day.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to learn more about Hartford because I\u2019ve only been in Guilford my whole life,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cI discovered that Hartford has a thriving ecosystem and it made me interested in possibly owning a business here someday.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Laura Braddick<\/strong>, a senior who hails from Kennebunk, Maine, said the experience changed her perception.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Hartford now,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cBut before this class, I really only went to games at the XL Center.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n As part of their course finale, students offered a host of suggestions to bolster the city. But the goal they all seemed particularly excited about was creating a strong multi-college internship program, tapping into the city\u2019s higher education powerhouses\u2014including UConn, Trinity College, University of Hartford, and Capital Community College–to help market and promote thriving businesses. Many retail shops, restaurants, and gyms are highly successful, but can\u2019t afford a professional marketing team to expand their client base, students said. <\/p>\n Nick English<\/strong>, a native of Manchester who is majoring in sports management and entrepreneurship, said he now feels optimistic about the capabilities and the opportunities in Hartford, and he’s confident that his generation can improve the city for all.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than anyone else, students have the power to reshape the city,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n For their final \u2018BUILD Hartford\u2019 class, students presented their findings to a group of community partners at the School of Business\u2019 Graduate Business Learning Center. Among those in the audience were alumni Michael <\/strong>and Shari Cantor<\/strong>, who funded the class. Michael Cantor runs one of the nation\u2019s largest patent law firms, based in Hartford. Shari Cantor is the mayor of West Hartford, and a member of the UConn Board of Trustees. <\/p>\n Michael Cantor said he hopes that students can help change the city\u2019s trajectory. When he recruits new employees, they are looking to relocate to an energetic and welcoming city, he said. He said he and his wife are big supporters of UConn, and are also champions of innovation and entrepreneurship. When they learned about \u2018BUILD Hartford,\u2019 they thought it was the perfect intersection of their interests.<\/p>\n \u201cEngaging UConn students was a no-brainer because they are really smart, they think out of the box, they have high energy, and they want to change the world for the better,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n Shari Cantor said the well-being of Hartford dramatically impacts West Hartford, and many other towns in the state. \u201cThis presentation was inspiring,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cIt is about problem-solving and making our region better. We\u2019ve all contributed to the challenges of Hartford, and we should all be part of the solution.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Offered through the School of Business\u2019 Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation<\/strong>, the \u201cBUILD Hartford\u2019 course was open to undergraduate and graduate students of all majors. This semester the course drew students from the School of Business and the colleges of Engineering and Liberal Arts and Sciences. This is the third time the course has been offered.<\/p>\n Students had the chance to meet with government, business, and civic leaders to investigate the city\u2019s strength and challenges and ways to aid in the development of Hartford. Instructor Matt Connell<\/strong> and program coordinator Michaela Hartl<\/strong> said the students were able to take a complex issue and divide it into achievable tasks.<\/p>\n In addition to its reputation as the insurance capital of the world (some 150 insurance companies are headquartered in Greater Hartford), the city is located in a desirable location in the Northeast, boasts a highly educated population, offers great recreation, including the Connecticut River, and offers strong support for startups and innovators. They also praised Bushnell Park, Parkville Market, the city\u2019s minor-league sports teams, outstanding universities, great historical and entertainment venues, and diverse cultures and food, they said.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s challenges include transportation and parking problems, crime, remote work that has decreased foot traffic, lack of corporate and collegiate engagement, food insecurity\/lack of grocery store, challenges with large event planning and coordination, and challenges around small businesses\u2019 ability to promote themselves, the students said.<\/p>\n Reiner Reichenberger<\/strong>, a business management major who grew up in West Hartford, said he thinks the city should use tax and business incentives to attract a large grocery store, so that city residents don\u2019t need a car. Currently, Hartford residents have to leave the city to shop at a large grocery store.<\/p>\n Kortney St. Preux<\/strong>, a Stratford native and exploratory major, said the city should offer self-guided walking tours, popup shops and customer loyalty incentives to boost retail sales. St. Preux wants to open a non-profit therapy clinic. \u201cThrough this course I got good business advice about finances, employees, communication and resilience,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n Students suggested creating a local event-planning office, in partnership with city officials and small business owners, to simplify the logistics, permits and venue selection for events. This would make it easier to attract conventions and other larger events to the city.<\/p>\n Revitalizing Hartford nightlife was a priority for Raiyan Ahmed<\/strong>, a biomedical engineering student from Bethany. When he spoke with non-residents and asked what they thought of the city, most of the comments were negative.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all came down to one comment\u2026Hartford is a bad place to live,\u2019\u2019 he said. He would like to see more concerts, festivals and art exhibits offered in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI think nightlife is extremely important for a city like Hartford. If you go to Times Square on Monday night, there are people there, there is energy. Hartford needs events to attract more people,\u2019\u2019 Ahmed said. \u201cA well-implemented nightlife will welcome visitors and is part of a dynamic social scene.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Nisha Joshee Hardnett<\/strong>, a graduate business student who works at Trinity College, said the course offered a unique opportunity to talk to small business owners and take a deep dive into what Hartford could offer.<\/p>\n \u201cI love being part of the solution. That\u2019s what drew me to this course,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cThis is such a diverse community in Hartford and that\u2019s not being amplified. We\u2019re the heart of Connecticut and everybody needs to know that!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m particularly interested in bridging the gap between the educational institutions in Hartford. I want to see how they can work together, using the energy of the students, to make it the best it can be,\u2019\u2019 Hardnett said.<\/p>\n Cunningham agreed. \u201cAfter speaking with the small business, I felt the most important element they needed was marketing. They said it was too expensive for them to afford it. I\u2019d like to see colleges in Hartford provide interns to help with marketing, especially to dispel the stereotype that Hartford is a dead city,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cIt is important to spread the word that many businesses here are thriving.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Jennifer Mathieu<\/strong>, executive director of CCEI, said the course offers both strategies for Hartford and personal growth for students.<\/p>\n \u201cThis course pushes students to step out of their comfort zone, and go out into the community to talk with various members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hartford,\u2019\u2019 Mathieu said.<\/p>\n \u201cEach semester the projects and outcomes our students have produced are incredibly creative, and this semester is no different. I am proud to see what the students were was able learn and accomplish in a very short period of time,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n The students will share their findings with community leaders and hope to leave a blueprint of their ideas for the next cohort of students who enroll in the course in the spring to build upon. \u201cWe heard the perspective of students who experienced Hartford first-hand,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cWe want them to have their next birthday party here, bring their family downtown, and share with others that they see Hartford differently now. I believe the course was already a success, because they were here!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although the majority of the students enrolled in UConn\u2019s \u2018BUILD Hartford\u2019 course grew up in Connecticut, many in neighboring suburbs, they all said they didn\u2019t know much about the city, and had spent little time in Hartford, until this semester.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":207828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1862],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-207827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-busn"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-29 16:58:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207827"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207860,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207827\/revisions\/207860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/207828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207827"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=207827"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=207827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018UConn Students \u2026Want to Change the World for the Better\u2019<\/h3>\n
\n\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of work done to make that happen, but it can\u2019t just be downtown,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cThe North End of Hartford is among the poorest areas in the nation, and we need to change that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\u2018We\u2019re the Heart of Connecticut and Everybody Needs to Know That!\u2019\u2019<\/h3>\n
\u2018They See Hartford Differently Now\u2019<\/h3>\n
\nCommunications professor Rory McGloin<\/strong>, who will teach the course next semester, said he is excited about the ripple effect the course is creating.<\/p>\n