“Everyone says we should do what we love but doing what you love can be really hard. Making change in the world is what I love but it won’t be easy.”
~Willa Zhou, Harvard College
They came from India, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Columbia, and Singapore, from Ohio, California, Florida, Massachusetts, and beyond, in part to learn how they can make a difference. This was our first cohort of student leaders - a group we see as the sparks that will ignite a network of college students that can help Acumen Fund advance our mission of changing how the world tackles poverty.
The first part of this journey culminated with a Student Leader’s Workshop held last weekend. Chosen from a highly competitive group of applicants, each student leader brought diverse experiences to the table: from working with laborers in garbage dumps in Guatemala to distributing bed nets in Ghana. All were hungry to learn how patient capital can be employed to combat poverty. We are honored to have them in our community.
Over the course of a three-day workshop our goal was to share with them our perspective on the social enterprise sector and the role of patient capital, and help them explore their role as leaders that can expand Acumen Fund’s impact in the world by building communities, or “tribes” on their campuses.
Marketing guru and Acumen Fund partner Seth Godin led the first session, discussing the importance of community and leadership. In addition to addressing the importance of building tribes, an insight he explores at length in his most recent book by the same name, Seth outlined a simple message – DECIDE. Make a choice about who you are and how you want to lead – then do it. This call to action set the tone for three days of dialogue, debate and idea-generation.
On Saturday morning, after a late night of teamwork over pizza on Friday, the students presented bold ideas for building awareness and communities around social enterprise. Their ideas included creating an online social enterprise hub aimed at college students, producing a viral video and organizing a conference focused on impact. They each shared concrete individual goals and timelines for things like spreading the word about The Blue Sweater, as well as fundraising and bringing knowledge on Acumen Fund to their networks and campuses.
I was particularly inspired by the students’ desire to understand the range of strategies that can be applied to addressing poverty. Also, in discussing their own approach to leadership, they were honest about their shortcomings, their fears, and their personal contradictions
As the weekend wrapped up, a commitment was made to moving forward with their proposals. These student leaders are now crisscrossing the globe on their way home, eager to continue what they started, to share their experiences and dedicate themselves to tackling the challenges of poverty. If these three days are any indicator, patient capital has just gained some powerful allies that will impact our world now and in the future. We look forward to continuing this journey with them.
Please feel free to visit their Twibe that they created on Twitter.
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