Last summer, Reuben Domike and I, along with the support of Dean Shila Garg and an alum, Sandeep Bhatia ’89, had an idea: Wouldn’t it be cool if we had a social entrepreneurship program that went global? It was no surprise that President Grant Cornwell supported the idea. And so, our journey began.
As part of our local social entrepreneurship spring internship in 2009, four students and Jessica DuPlaga, Director of International and Off-Campus Study, worked with me to write a business plan to figure out if this could happen. The dedicated group of students included: Gitika Mohta ’10, Marianne Sierocinski ’11, Laura Valencia ’12, and Benjamin Welbourn ’11.
Jessica DuPlaga – Director of Off Campus Study, Amyaz Moledina- Director of Social Entrpreneruship, Benjamin Welbourn, Laura Valencia, Gitika Mohta, Marianne Sierocisnki.
Their task was to come up with the most innovative international, social entrepreneurship, experiential-learning program they could think of! Their proposal is called Global Social Entrepreneurship, and it includes a preparatory spring semester on-campus tutorial with an embedded 4-6 week summer abroad experience. This assessment trip to India, funded by the Smuckers Fund for Global Ethics, is the first step in making their plan a reality. Traveling with me is the detail-oriented Marianne Sierocinski.
Please read the “Program Vision” page if you want to know more about our program’s philosophy and goals. Our visit begins on July 2nd after we arrive in Bangalore, continues to Chennai on July 8th, Wooster Nagar on July 9th, and then a return to the States on Sunday, July 12th.
Feel free to comment as we post our thoughts and experiences while we are in India, though we ask that you please share personal messages with us privately.
Enjoy, and thanks for coming along.
AM
