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All About Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship is a very important subject and very relevant to the need of the times. This summer, my mentor, Prof. Bob Hopkins is offering a 12 week course on Corporate and Social Entrepreneurship sponsored by Eastfield College and the Dallas Museum of Biblical Art. Students not only get to learn about how to start and run non-profit organizations, but they also get an opportunity to learn from various civic leaders. 

Last week, I found myself standing shoulder to shoulder with former NBC 5 Sports anchor, Scott Murray, and the founder of Global Community for Education, Don Wilks. We had been invited to share our experiences in the social entrepreneurship arena with the students.

Scott Murray of sports broadcasting fame gave a presentation on leadership. The Emmy winning anchor shared inspirational stories of famous sports stars such as Troy Aikman, Nolan Ryan, John Wooden, and John Elway. He discussed their determination, loyalty, honor, and what made them good leaders . It was heartwarming to hear Mr. Murray's anecdotes about his interactions with these famous personalities, and it exposed me to a new perspective on leadership in the world of sports. One of my favorite takeaways was “Don’t just be a go-getter, be a go-giver”.

The next speaker was Don Wilks, founder of the Global Community for Education (GCE). GCE is an organization that builds schools in the remote parts of Nepal. Mr. Wilks talked about how his chance meeting with a sherpa named Tanka got him started with GCE. One of the most interesting things about GCE-built schools is their emphasis on gender equality. Mr. Wilks made it clear that a family could enroll their sons in the school, only if they agreed to send their daughters to the school as well. GCE believes that for a society to progress, it is very important to educate and empower women.

My topic was about philanthropy and kids. I spoke about the common traits of leaders and how these traits can be fostered in kids by getting them involved in philanthropy. I discussed the behavioral changes seen in kids when they volunteer in community service projects, raise funds for non-profits, and show kindness to others. There are significant improvements in their communication skills, confidence, creativity, and compassion. I talked about Philanthropy Kids, it’s mission to celebrate and inspire philanthropy in kids and the PAVE program (Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Entrepreneurship). I then called upon a couple of PAVE alumni to share their experience post-PAVE. Katherine Adams shared the story of how her non-profit organization, Paper for Water, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund the building of wells in drought ridden parts of India and Africa. Roma Majji talked about how PAVE helped her gain more confidence to speak up at school and get involved in her community. 

It was a wonderful event where I learned a lot from the other speakers and the members of the audience. It’s amazing to see how many people are involved in philanthropy, and how many more are eager to get started. It reminded us all that you don’t have to be rich or old to be a philanthropist, you just have to care!

To find out more about the projects that Philanthropy Kids undertakes, visit www.PhilanthropyKids.org. For information on GCE, visit www.globalcommunityforeducation.org

 

 

 

Extreme Makeover: Money Edition

Yesterday, we learned that Alexander Hamilton will remain on the face of the $10 bill, and Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist who led many slaves to freedom by way of the "underground railroad", will instead be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. We also found out that the back of the 10 dollar bill will now be an image honoring all of the suffragettes who fought for women's right to vote and helped introduce the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.

I think it's wonderful to acknowledge the efforts of "more recent" change-makers in our nation by placing icons of certain movements like slavery and women's suffrage on something that is so commonplace yet instrumental in our daily lives: our money.

There's still a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure that civil rights are never violated, but I'm so happy that we'll see reminders of the progress we've made as citizens and as a country every time we buy our Big Macs and apple pies.

I'm interested to see who will replace whom on our currency in the future? Maybe Bill Gates, maybe Kim Kardashian, maybe Donald Trump...only time will tell.

Harper Lee Dies at 89

“There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible.” -Harper Lee

It's sad to hear that Harper Lee has passed away. To Kill A Mockingbird was the first American "classic" that I read. It was arguably one of the best required readings I've encountered in an English course. Lee's book taught me so much about history, society, and personal morality. It taught me about the ugly things in this world in a very age-appropriate manner, and Lee was able to provide us a character who was courageous enough to challenge that ugliness even when he knows that he has no chance of succeeding and inspire an audience of readers to be the same.

There's a an inexplicable beauty to literature when it makes you like the story and the message so much that you feel a true connection with the author. I felt that connection with Harper Lee. And even though she is no longer alive, that connection will always be.

AJAS: Starting the Party

Today, I, along with some of my peers: Ashish Chowdary, Chandru Sundarrajan, Aditya Vaidya and Anagha Krishnan, arrived in Washington DC for the American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) Research Symposium as part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference. We were invited to this conference as Lifetime Fellows of AJAS because of our success at the TJAS Research Competition this past October where we each won first place in our respective categories.

Over the next few days, we will present our research projects to scientists and academics, visit a national research institute like the NASA Goddard Space Research Center or the National Institute of Health, take a bus tour of the rest of the District of Columbia, meet other students doing research from all over the country, and most of all, have a blast!

It's going to be a very hectic couple of days, but we're super pumped to show off all of the hard work that we've put in to our individual projects.

Extra Yard for Teachers Summit

The Extra Yard for Teacher Summit was an awesome program to volunteer at this Saturday! The conference was held for educators to interact with other teachers and hear their stories through TED-style talks and breakout sessions. I got to meet many interesting people involved in helping kids become better students and citizens in and out of the classroom. To find out more visit ExtraYardSummit.org.

Thank you to Public City and the College Football Playoff for giving me the chance to be a part of this wonderful experience!

Having fun is actually pretty hard, Arthur

When I was much younger, I watched the PBS Kids show, Arthur, with my mom. The show was a big part of my childhood, and I still remember most of the episodes. Some episodes would even have musical numbers. One of my favorites was the "Library Card" song. The song was encouraging viewers to obtain a library card so they would read more books and have "fun" doing so. It was a great message, but it was a bit misleading.

The chorus goes as such:

Having fun isn't hard, When you've got a library card.

 And the rest of the song has phrases like:

Come on inside,
We've got everything you need.
There's plenty to do,
Or you can just sit and read.

and

And all you need's this little card
To borrow 'em for free!

and

You can take 'em home
So you don't have to
Read 'em in a hurry.

Arthur made it seem as though I could just walk in to a library, ask for this card, grab a book, and begin my adventure. However, today at the Frisco Public Library, when I asked for a card (I had always used my mom's card and today I thought that since I'm a big kid now, I should get my own) they asked me if I was eighteen. I wasn't and admitted it.

They proceeded to inform me that I needed a parent to fill out the application on my behalf because I wasn't "old enough". I was so excited to check out my library books under my own name and prove my coming of age, but I let a television show (that doesn't mention the complications of the legal system) get my hopes up. I walked out of the building with my head hung in shame that I couldn't even apply for something as simple as a library card...

Once I got home, I had an epiphany. I realized that it's the 21st century online piracy was a thing. But I stopped myself when I remembered something else that Arthur had addressed: "There are other ways to get what you want without stealing, D.W.". So I just used Overdrive to legally get an electronic version of the book I wanted.

Arthur almost made me a criminal, but also stopped me from making the wrong choices. I wonder what other decisions he's influenced in my life. What would I ever do without the helpful aardvark?