What have I learned in the Global Social Benefit Fellowship about social entrepreneurship? Perhaps the better question is, what didn’t I learn? I have witnessed the outstanding dedication and work of social entrepreneurs changing systems to better the livelihoods of people. I have seen the power of business models intersect with sustainability, agriculture, property rights, infant health, water, technology, transportation, etc. This was something I never dreamt of learning in college let alone be a part of. I have also experienced the impact of these social enterprises on the lives of the beneficiaries. During my fieldwork in Uganda, for example, I saw first-hand how coffee farmers were moving away from extreme poverty to better livelihoods because of NUCAFE and its mission to help farmers earn higher prices for their product.
Like many other social enterprises, NUCAFE is aiming to replicate their business model with other crops and regions to reach more people, but this endeavor is extremely challenging. Nonetheless, through the work of Miller Center, specifically the in-residence program, I felt optimistic for the future of these enterprises. In many ways, it was refreshing to see how Silicon Valley business thinking is being used to help social enterprises address some of the world’s needs. This puts a different perspective for me on the role of business innovation in helping the most vulnerable in our world.
Before this fellowship, I was sure that all I wanted to do was work related to the environment. This continues to be true, but now I see social entrepreneurship as another avenue for creating social change and nurturing our planet. As a result of this experience, I want to gain a better understanding of business concepts. This made me change from a minor to a double major in Economics. My work with NUCAFE taught me that sustainability and business can co-exist in harmony with each other and I would like to pursue this intersection further. Most of my time at SCU has been focused on work related to environmental science, but if I truly want to be a part of a social enterprise, I feel the need to first gain experience working with a firm to learn more about how business and management are done. Despite my interest in exploring social entrepreneurship, I do not see myself doing this right out of college since I do not feel ready.
Like many other social enterprises, NUCAFE is aiming to replicate their business model with other crops and regions to reach more people, but this endeavor is extremely challenging. Nonetheless, through the work of Miller Center, specifically the in-residence program, I felt optimistic for the future of these enterprises. In many ways, it was refreshing to see how Silicon Valley business thinking is being used to help social enterprises address some of the world’s needs. This puts a different perspective for me on the role of business innovation in helping the most vulnerable in our world.
Before this fellowship, I was sure that all I wanted to do was work related to the environment. This continues to be true, but now I see social entrepreneurship as another avenue for creating social change and nurturing our planet. As a result of this experience, I want to gain a better understanding of business concepts. This made me change from a minor to a double major in Economics. My work with NUCAFE taught me that sustainability and business can co-exist in harmony with each other and I would like to pursue this intersection further. Most of my time at SCU has been focused on work related to environmental science, but if I truly want to be a part of a social enterprise, I feel the need to first gain experience working with a firm to learn more about how business and management are done. Despite my interest in exploring social entrepreneurship, I do not see myself doing this right out of college since I do not feel ready.
Furthermore, I am thankful for the discussions on vocational discernment although I often found them difficult because as an INTJ—I found out other INTJs feel the same—it is not easy to sit down and reflect on experiences. Yet by speaking to my peers during class discussions, I came to understand that I see myself pursuing a vocation that enables me to advance sustainability in any way possible. Reading chapters of Laudato Si’ reaffirmed my interest and reminded me why this is important to me. As I mentioned before, I did not see myself doing this through business, but now I am even considering working towards an MBA rather than M.S. in graduate school. The power of business to create positive change truly shined during my experience with the fellowship. In environmental studies classes and in the media, I often read about how firms disregard the wellbeing of the environment for profit. However, social entrepreneurship showed me that this doesn’t have to be the case; businesses don’t have to be the enemy for the planet. In fact, I am starting to believe that social entrepreneurship can be the trendsetter for more conscientious ways of doing businesses.
A year ago, I was getting ready to apply for the fellowship. I was eager to use my knowledge and work alongside a social enterprise in Africa. I came into the fellowship with an open mind. I admit that I was skeptical as to how social enterprises could be financially stable and still create change on beneficiaries. Of course, now I know that it is possible! I had a perception that environmental work could only be done through nonprofits or research institutions and that businesses were the antithesis to sustainability. NUCAFE completely changed this perception for me. Indeed, creating social justice and helping those less privileged than us doesn’t have one specific look and I’m thankful to Miller Center for helping me realize that. Moreover, being surrounded by a cohort of peers and social entrepreneurs who aspire to create more social change, have made me a more hopeful person than before about the future of this planet.
Yet I can’t go out and dedicate myself to social entrepreneurship just yet. Doing vocational discernment reminded me why I wanted a college education in the first place, before I learned about the environmental degradation. This brought me back to the concept of upward mobility: a central idea as to why I desired to pursue a college education. As the son of immigrant, working class parents this has been a source of motivation for the past 4 years at SCU. Along the way I discovered my interest in sustainability and my concern for the natural world. This is partially because of my experience in a developing country; for example, I have seen pristine areas of land reduced to corn fields. However, before I can improve unfair systems like those being addressed by social enterprises, I want to dedicate myself to the betterment of my family and myself. I was once in the same group of people living in extreme poverty. Therefore, I can’t aim to work to improve livelihoods of others without doing this first for my closest family. It wasn’t obvious to me until I spoke to others, including Jeff Miller, about vocational discernment.
Regardless of what I end up doing right after college, I will always carry my experience with Miller Center as a source of hope. I am more than thankful for learning about social entrepreneurship and for having the wonderful opportunity to use the skills and knowledge I’ve gained at SCU to help a social enterprise, such as NUCAFE, reach more lives. I am also thankful for the newfound knowledge and guidance provided by Keith and Thane.
Yet I can’t go out and dedicate myself to social entrepreneurship just yet. Doing vocational discernment reminded me why I wanted a college education in the first place, before I learned about the environmental degradation. This brought me back to the concept of upward mobility: a central idea as to why I desired to pursue a college education. As the son of immigrant, working class parents this has been a source of motivation for the past 4 years at SCU. Along the way I discovered my interest in sustainability and my concern for the natural world. This is partially because of my experience in a developing country; for example, I have seen pristine areas of land reduced to corn fields. However, before I can improve unfair systems like those being addressed by social enterprises, I want to dedicate myself to the betterment of my family and myself. I was once in the same group of people living in extreme poverty. Therefore, I can’t aim to work to improve livelihoods of others without doing this first for my closest family. It wasn’t obvious to me until I spoke to others, including Jeff Miller, about vocational discernment.
Regardless of what I end up doing right after college, I will always carry my experience with Miller Center as a source of hope. I am more than thankful for learning about social entrepreneurship and for having the wonderful opportunity to use the skills and knowledge I’ve gained at SCU to help a social enterprise, such as NUCAFE, reach more lives. I am also thankful for the newfound knowledge and guidance provided by Keith and Thane.