Students Share Experiences at Maryland Social Entrepreneur Corps Symposium

The 2014 Maryland Social Entrepreneur Corps (MSEC) wrapped up this month with an evening symposium for students to share their experiences with program partners, sponsors and prospective students. This past summer, fifteen UMD undergraduates traveled to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador to support sustainable economic development. The students deeply impacted communities across all three countries by supporting the creation of businesses selling life changing products such as eye glasses, cook stoves and water filtration systems. Students also assisted local entrepreneurs with marketing, customer discovery, and operations to expand their businesses.

At the Symposium, students shared the transformative experience of working with these entrepreneurs in a unique economic and cultural environment. They also shared the impact the program had on them, both personally and professionally. Key lessons learned during the program included having patience and appreciation for different business culture and environment, what works in the United States does not work everywhere and how simple business application such as marketing materials and cost records can have a tremendous impact on small businesses. Following the student presentations, Greg Van Kirk, founder of Community Enterprise Solutions and MSEC program partner, also spoke about his pride in the students’ work and their role in the future of social entrepreneurship.

Maryland Social Entrepreneur Corps is a collaboration between The University of Maryland Education Abroad Office, The Center for Social Value Creation at the Smith School of Business and the Office of Global Initiatives at the Smith School of Business. If you’d like to learn more about the MSEC program, visit the program website here and read our interview with past MSEC student, Surendra Fernando.