If you’re like many prospective MBA students, you want to make a difference in the world. In fact, Net Impact National’s annual survey found 93% of student respondents think social and environmental issues are very important or essential to the long-term success of businesses! (Read full report here)
Here at Fuqua, we have a number of ways you can hone your business skills to prepare for future social impact careers, whether that be founding your own social venture or influencing a major corporation’s CSR practices.
To give you a sampling of how you can be a part of the social impact community at Fuqua, here’s six ways you can get involved:
1) Day in Durham
Before the start of the fall semester, first-year MBAs join together for a day of inspiration and camaraderie at Day in Durham. Learn the history of this great city, where the opportunities lie for social impact, and tour some of the innovative organizations and companies in Durham working on sustainability issues, impact investing, healthcare, and more. Learn more and register here.
Get a recap of last year’s Day in Durham from CASE Scholar Tiffany Hsieh.
2) Curricular Offerings
You’re at Fuqua to build your business skills and we have a number of social impact-focused courses to prepare you for the field. In addition to classes like Advanced Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing, we have opportunities for experiential learning, including:
- Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum
- CASE i3 Consulting Practicum
- Mentored Study
- Independent Study
You can even complete a concentration in social entrepreneurship! Learn more about our course offerings.
3) Career Resources
We don’t want you to wait until graduation to start thinking about your next career move so we provide a number of services and opportunities to prepare you for that next step.
In the Career Management Center, Mackenzie Sullivan helps students wanting to work in the social impact and sustainability sectors with career coaching and job search preparation. At the beginning of your time at Fuqua, be sure to join the Business for Social Impact: Starting Line where we’ll show you what’s possible in using business as a vehicle for social change and how you can take advantage of your time here to bolster your ability to create that change.
CASE’s Summer Internship Fund provides first-year Fuqua MBA students with financial assistance when they accept internships with eligible nonprofits and public agencies. From K-12 education to impact investing, Fuqua MBAs have interned at a wide variety of organizations thanks to the Summer Internship Fund. Read about their experiences here.
And once you’ve graduated, the Fuqua Loan Assistance Program provides loan forgiveness awards to Daytime MBA alumni working full-time for eligible nonprofits and government organizations. Learn more.
4) Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference
The largest conference of its kind in the Southeast, the Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference (SBSI) brings together professionals from across the social impact and sustainability sectors to delve into the latest trends and hot topics we’re seeing in the field. We work with the Net Impact Club and EDGE to bring many inspiring panelists and speakers to the conference, with the most recent featuring keynotes by Teju Ravilochan, CEO of the Unreasonable Institute, and Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation.
Get a peek at this past spring’s SBSI from student co-chair of the conference Danny Suits.
Fuqua alumnus Monty Montoya shares his social impact journey at SBSI 2017:
We also offer pop-up workshops throughout the academic year and chances to hear from leaders in the field of social entrepreneurship with our CASE Executive Speaker Series. Take a look at our upcoming events.
5) Fuqua on Board
Never served on a nonprofit board before? Now’s your chance. Fuqua on Board connects MBAs with Triangle area nonprofits to serve as non-voting board members and gain valuable insights into the governance and inner workings of nonprofit organizations while also providing the nonprofits with fresh perspectives and critical business skills. In past years, Fuqua students have served on the boards of the Triangle Land Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity of Durham, NC Museum of Life & Science, and more.
Fuqua MBA Kieran Coscia shares his experience with Fuqua on Board.
6) CASE Fellowships
Want to take a deeper dive into impact investing? The CASE Initiative on Impact Investing (CASE i3) Fellowship offers opportunities for impact investing research and coursework, completing a consulting project or apprenticeship, and meeting some of the most influential impact investors in the field. Learn more.
In addition, the CASE Fellowship is focused on social entrepreneurship, giving second-year MBAs the opportunity to act as ambassadors and work with the CASE team throughout the year. Meet this year’s CASE and CASE i3 Fellows.
This is just a sampling of the programming we offer at Fuqua with many more opportunities for students to take advantage of. We also work with others in the Fuqua community, including EDGE and the award-winning Fuqua Net Impact Club, meaning a wealth of social impact options for you.
We hope that you all enjoy Blue Devil Weekend and look forward to you joining the CASE community this fall!