Academics

OU Students Explore Social Entrepreneurship & Service


Six students represented Oglethorpe University at the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation Service and Social Entrepreneurship Retreat in Hendersonville, N.C. During the three-day retreat, Brian Cornelius ’15, Shea Pitre ’15, Corey Ray ’14, Vanessa Garcia ’15, Ashley Causey ’14, and Samuel Lyon ’15 learned more about social entrepreneurship and its importance and power for change. Together with students from colleges on the east coast, they shared ideas about how they want to change their own communities and the world.

The students were given the opportunity to develop their own ideas and business models, present those ideas at the conference, and receive direct feedback from the professionals participating.

The weekend featured presentations by established social entrepreneurs, some of whom were still undergraduates as well, while the students were able to develop their own ideas. Participants heard from Perry Wilson, founder and president of If I Had a Hammer, as well as Oglethorpe’s Tamara Nash, executive director of the Center for Civic Engagement in Oglethorpe’s Atlanta Laboratory for Learning.

Chi Phi Fraternity President and CCE Ambassador Corey Ray was intrigued by the “changing trend of community service.”

“The experience and skills that I gained while at the conference are things that I will never forget,” said Brian. “It  helped me to better understand social change, and how, even in college, if we try we can make the world a better place by simply just having an idea.”

 

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