Adams State interns recommend scooters, TikTok and themed events to connect students with downtown Alamosa

A semester‑long internship course at Adams State University produced recommendations the city and Main Street partners can use to increase student engagement downtown: shared mobility, social‑media content targeted to students, bilingual brochures, lighting improvements on likely walking routes, and student‑focused events.

Councilor Hensley, who helped coordinate the class, summarized the students’ research and final presentations. Students surveyed campus peers and distilled findings into five barriers: distance from campus to downtown, lack of awareness of downtown amenities, misaligned hours, perceptions of safety and lighting, and weak business–student relationships. From those findings they proposed five solution “buckets”: scooters (or other shared mobility), social‑media collaboration focused on TikTok, printed bilingual brochures in student packets, targeted lighting on pedestrian routes, and student‑led events (examples included themed “Last Bridal” nights and takeovers of First Friday).

The students reported scooters had previously boosted downtown visits and urged the city and partners to resume discussions with scooter operators; presenters said companies have asked for substantial up‑front commitments and that conversations with Uber are also advancing. The students recommended a low‑cost business buy‑in internship model — roughly $40 per business per year — to fund student marketing support and a student event committee to run downtown activations.

Main Street and Visit Alamosa participants at the meeting praised the interns’ work. Councilors and staff said the ideas offer practical, low‑cost pilots to test ways of connecting students to downtown businesses and broader tourism marketing.

“One of the biggest takeaways was that students ‘don’t even know what’s down there because we’re communicating in the wrong language to young people,’” Councilor Hensley said during the presentation.