2008 Woodie Awards
Miami students to team up with local Latino-owned businesses
Austin Sweeney
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Campus
According to marketing professor Brett Smith, social entrepreneurship is becoming more common throughout out the world, and at Miami University is at the forefront of the trend.
"Social Entrepreneurship combines the imagination and creativity of entrepreneurship, but applies it primarily for the creation of social (rather than economic) value often for those who are marginalized or poor," Smith said.
Taking on the social entrepreneurship charge in Oxford is Miami junior Jessica Reading. Reading is a management and organizations major with a minor in American studies. She is also a Wilks Scholar, which has allowed her to become heavily involved in the "Think Globally, Act Locally" program. The program gives Wilks Scholars the chance to integrate class room learning with a community based experience.
Reading's involvement in the program, and her work in Entrepreneurship (ESP) 464, a social entrepreneurship class taught by Smith, have caused her to spend countless hours developing an independent study initiative called Partners for Change.
The initiative, which is set to begin in the fall of 2008, will allow Miami students to assist Latino-owned small-businesses in Hamilton while gaining real-world experience.
Partners for Change will be a semester-long program and is not limited to students in Smith's ESP 464 class.
It was Reading's exposure to the negative stereotyping of Latinos in Hamilton that moved her to start her initiative.
"In Hamilton, some see Latinos as a threat to the community because they are thought to cause much of the violence within Hamilton, to reside in the country illegally, and take jobs away from other citizens," Reading said.
Reading learned of this negative stereotyping through her work with La Voz.
La Voz is an organization in Hamilton that strives to cultivate support and cultural awareness about the positive aspects of Latino businesses. The organization facilitates communication among business owners in Hamilton and allows them to be proactive in the community, according to Reading.
"Social Entrepreneurship combines the imagination and creativity of entrepreneurship, but applies it primarily for the creation of social (rather than economic) value often for those who are marginalized or poor," Smith said.
Taking on the social entrepreneurship charge in Oxford is Miami junior Jessica Reading. Reading is a management and organizations major with a minor in American studies. She is also a Wilks Scholar, which has allowed her to become heavily involved in the "Think Globally, Act Locally" program. The program gives Wilks Scholars the chance to integrate class room learning with a community based experience.
Reading's involvement in the program, and her work in Entrepreneurship (ESP) 464, a social entrepreneurship class taught by Smith, have caused her to spend countless hours developing an independent study initiative called Partners for Change.
The initiative, which is set to begin in the fall of 2008, will allow Miami students to assist Latino-owned small-businesses in Hamilton while gaining real-world experience.
Partners for Change will be a semester-long program and is not limited to students in Smith's ESP 464 class.
It was Reading's exposure to the negative stereotyping of Latinos in Hamilton that moved her to start her initiative.
"In Hamilton, some see Latinos as a threat to the community because they are thought to cause much of the violence within Hamilton, to reside in the country illegally, and take jobs away from other citizens," Reading said.
Reading learned of this negative stereotyping through her work with La Voz.
La Voz is an organization in Hamilton that strives to cultivate support and cultural awareness about the positive aspects of Latino businesses. The organization facilitates communication among business owners in Hamilton and allows them to be proactive in the community, according to Reading.
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