Student Participants with the Lombardi Trophy (NFL Headquarters)
Reflection by Ellie Smith, Class of 2014
As a junior, I found myself reflecting on what career path I wanted to embark on. I didn’t have much direction, I only knew that whatever field I decided on needed to be something I felt passionate about. There is something to be said about walking into an office building every weekday morning at 9 AM with the knowledge that the job you and your coworkers do makes a difference. With the desire to learn more about how I could make that happen, I applied to the COVE’s now yearly Social Entrepreneurship trip to New York City.
Before heading to NYC, we had a series of pre-departure meetings. During one such session, we all gathered to hear Anke Wessels speak. The director of the Center for Transformative Action at Cornell University, Anke had a seriously unique take on the current and future roll of social enterprise business around the globe. She showed us a spectrum of mission-centered business models, and aptly fielded our questions on a broad range of topics relating to social innovation.
On our spring break trip, we went to Google, Do Something, the NFL (where our sports enthusiasts were thrilled to see the Lombardi trophy), Autism Speaks, numerous small social enterprise businesses, and a handful of sustainable restaurants. We spoke with alums, ate delicious food, learned about how to incorporate a social mission into our future careers, and ate some more. It was unbelievably fun, and gave us all important insight.
Colgate is known for how it innovates, constantly changes, and adapts to the interests of students – and this is exactly what sets our university apart from its peers. When Colgate students showed interest in entrepreneurship, the faculty and administration responded with TIA (Thought into Action), the Social Entrepreneurship Alternative Break Trip, and brought countless innovators to campus. Most notably, the Max A. Shacknai COVE is bringing Anke Wessels back to Colgate – this time, for a week-long Ashoka award winning course entitled “Social Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Problem Solvers” from January 13th-17th. With all of the buzz currently surrounding this topic – and Anke’s experience and renown – this course is sure to be another one of Colgate’s successes.