Jan
8
Social-E ASB - Week 1
January 8, 2008 |
So one of my best friends, Kalvin Wang, who is also a senior here at Stanford, is one of the people in charge of this program/class - Social Entrepreneurship Alternative Spring Break. The objective is for students to learn what social entrepreneurship is, what’s going on in the realm, what issues are being tackled, and how students can get involved. Even though the class is only one unit, after the winter quarter ends we head into Spring Break and then get to have more of a hands-on experience with social entrepreneurship.
Spring Break
While the plans haven’t fully been solidified yet, I think we’re going to spend some time helping a couple social entrepreneurship groups with random stuff as well as visit some more in the Bay Area. We might do some brainstorming, help with some random project through feedback and trials, or something else… It’s kind of up in the air right now.
Resources/Articles
A lot of this class is reading about what is going on currently in the field of social entrepreneurship, and as such, we’re doing a ton of research on organizations. Many of them may be in the Bay Area, but a lot of these organizations are international in scope.
People
One of the most exciting aspect of this class is the people we get to meet. The class is mostly targeted at undergraduates, but if you are an amazing grad student, you can still apply for the class. For our group, there are a few freshmen, a ton of sophomores, and one senior (aside from Kalvin and Sophia, the leaders). What I find amazing is the diversity of the group, and the amount of passion that many of them have for social entrepreneurship. I recognize only two from Gumball, so it is great to meet and get to know a bunch of new people.
Goals
- Recognize that there is significant interest in social entrepreneurship, and that many social entrepreneurs are successfully creating change,
- Identify with as many social entrepreneurs as possible, whether in your common backgrounds and goals or in your mutual interest on particular issues,
- Feel that the problems that social entrepreneurs address are real and relevant,
- Understand how various actors and organizations interact as a sector, particularly in the Bay Area, and understand that social entrepreneurs don’t work in isolation,
- Be inspired to continue learning about and engaging with social entrepreneurship, and gain the resources to do so.
As you may be able to tell, I didn’t write this list, but I think it is worth mentioning because they are so concise and important. From a list like this, I get a very strong feeling that this class is going to be extremely powerful and we’re going to accomplish a lot. Otherwise, that’s it for the first class and I will make it a habit of keeping you informed of what happens each week.