About Alexandra

My name is Alexandra Elizabeth Haass, but those who know me, know to just call me- Alex. They also know of my passions for adventure, travel, and people. It is not often that you will find me without a smile on my face, which is usually attributed to enjoying life, but more frequently than I’d like to admit could also be because I laugh at my own jokes and smart alec comments. Read on to learn more about me and why I am writing this blog...

A brief description of myself: I was born and raised in Colorado where I fell in love with the outdoors and adventure. At 16, a curiosity to see what was beyond my life in the Rockies drove me to Buena Vista, Costa Rica- a small village in the mountains- where I lived with a host family for my summer vacation. I was bit by the travel bug and decided I was going to live my life exploring the world. A mentality, that drove me to go out of state for school and landed me at Belmont University (for Music Business... obviously). Music Business wasn’t for me, but I knew I had a drive to push myself to the limit, a passion for the world and its people, and a desire to connect these characteristics with my business intuition and creativity. Fortunately, this formula beautifully aligned and became a reality when I found the Social Entrepreneurship program.

A brief description of my South African adventure: Now a college grad with a B.A. in Social Entrepreneurship, it was time again for me to spread my wings and go abroad...this time with more experience under my belt and a clear vision of my goals. South Africa is a beautiful country with beautiful people and many opportunities for adventures of all kinds. Why I chose to go should now be obvious to you. However, what I am most excited about is my work. For the four months that I will be in Cape Town I will be interning with Reciprocity, a consultancy firm that aims to bridge the dire economic gap in South Africa by advising for-profit companies on how to incorporate the Base of the Pyrimad (the poorest of the poor) into their business models. As stated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, “Business is good for development, and development is good for business”. Reciprocity works to make this a reality in South Africa’s post-apartheid world. I plan to contribute to their mission, but above all learn all that I can about sustainable business in a developing world so that I can translate that knowledge into future endeavors that hopefully will continue to generate sustainable solutions to some of the world’s problems. Every experience is a form of exploration. I hope that you will decide to continue to follow my experience in South Africa as I explore a new country half way across the world. Until next time!

Looking forward,
Alex

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *