Before moving to Sarver, PA, Alumni Cheyenne Knight lived in Delta, PA, and she absolutely loved it. In a recent blog post she said, “ In a town of that size, it seems as though everyone in the community knows you and your family, which oftentimes meant they knew your business. But I absolutely loved it. Living in a small town meant that I had ‘extended family’ beyond my parents, and I’ve been blessed enough to have maintained many of the relationships I built growing up in Delta.”

Sarver is located outside of Pittsburgh, and it is a big town. In a way, growing up in Delta really prepared Knight for living in a big town. She better understands the importance of seeking meaningful connections wherever you go. “While living in a larger city may feel daunting, there are always smaller pockets of communities to immerse yourself in, which allows you to create strong bonds with people you might not have interacted with otherwise.” 

Knight lived in Delta for most of her life until she left to go to college. As soon as she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, she got hired at Cosmitto (a digital marketing company) and moved to Sarver.

 “While I have enjoyed living in a city, especially for college, I’m definitely a small-town girl at heart. I like a slower pace of living, a more rural area, and a specific sense of community that only seems to come from residing in a small town. While it isn’t as convenient as living in a larger town, suburb, or city, it feels much more like home to me. 

“I originally thought a smaller community was stifling, but now, I’m more overwhelmed by tall buildings and the commotion of the city. I’m also currently taking courses in community and economic development, so I would like to live in a smaller town and get involved in their local community development initiatives.”

In a recent blog, titled “Restless Mind, Wandering Soul: In Defense of Delta” she mentioned multiple times how she would love to give back to her community in Delta. 

But, in every good there is a little bad, and Delta is known to have a reputation: a poorer community with a drug epidemic. 

 “The reputation that Delta has absolutely hurts my heart. In my mind, it’s reputation is definitely propelled by a lot of hearsay and unwillingness to truly understand the community. The ‘bad’ Delta

that people speak of doesn’t necessarily exist in the ways that it’s discussed. While there are things that need to be improved in the community, there are people, businesses, and organizations within the community and surrounding communities that are working on addressing the issue.” 

“When I was younger, however, the reactions [to living Delta] were predominantly negative, and they mostly came from people my age who lived in neighboring communities. People would immediately ask, ‘Oh, do you live on crack corner?’

 “I can’t say it made me feel great. At first, my response was to shake it off and laugh along with them. But as I got older, I got more and more defensive of my community. People from outside the community don’t perceive it the same way that I do, and honestly, there are people within the community who have a negative outlook on the community. But it’s home, and you can’t change where you came from. Now, if I ever get any kind of negative reaction when people ask me where I am from, I take the time to tell them all the good that is happening in the community.” 

Knight  definitely loves her old community and hopefully in the future, plans to move back to Delta.