Being born in Humboldt, Iowa and raised in Spring Hill, Kansas, I can honestly say that international travel was not something on my mind growing up. But then life happened. I took four years of French in high school and in lieu of not having the option of taking business classes I compensated by participating in the Kansas Economics, Personal Finance and Academic World Quest competitions. I found business to be a pleasant mix of both math and social science, and after a whirlwind of applications, interviews and travel ended up settling on Belmont University to study International Business with a concentration in French.
One of the sayings that really stuck with me after orientation at Belmont was to “find the place where your passions and the world’s needs intersect”. I learned the positive impact that businesses could have on society through Enactus, an organization dedicated to helping enterprises create sustainable business models and a social good. I learned how to begin to understand the realities of social injustice through immersions trips with University Ministries. I cannot say that I ever had an epiphany, but the culmination of these experiences left me with a desire to use the skills that I am learning in business to create change in the world.
In Saint Louis I will be working with the Projects Abroad Microfinance office to give loans of $50-$300 to small businesses, as well as check-up on those people who have already received loans. I will be helping teach business education courses for the people in the community and hopefully contribute to the good work already being done in the country. I hope to also gain a better understanding of how French colonialism influenced Senegal and manifests itself to this day. I am excited and grateful for this opportunity to expand my horizons and to immerse myself in a culture completely different than my own. On y va!