Social Entrepreneurship at Cornell University
Attending summer courses is a great option for students who want to expand their knowledge in a variety of fields. These programs often offer courses that are not commonly taught in a high school. Attending a summer course will enhance one’s understanding of a certain field and give students the opportunity to experience living on a college campus. This summer, I attended a two week long program called “Social Entrepreneurship: Transforming Lives, Resolving Problems” at Cornell University. As I wanted to learn something unique, I decided to study the smartest approaches on social problems and the thinking processes behind solving them.
Signing up for Social Entrepreneurship really changed my view on addressing social issues like poverty and unemployment. When I was younger, I always thought that simply donating money, clothes or food was sufficient to help people facing social problems. I did not truly understand the problems that certain parties faced. For example, one country in Africa might need a better loan system, but if the general public saw that country as just any poor country, many people would just donate items. By doing so, the real problem was not addressed and one risked losing genuineness. However, throughout the course, I learned that by addressing a problem, one first has to empathize with another. Only by placing one in another’s shoes can people truly help each other.
Arthur and his social entrepreneurship classmates in front of his classroom building at Cornell University. Source: Arthur Hsu, 2019.
Furthermore, Social Entrepreneurship taught me about how entrepreneurs created profit or non-profit organizations to tackle social problems. The final project was centered around this principle, where we were split into groups and each group had to create an organization to come up with a solution to address a certain social issue such as education inequality. This experience further helped me develop my critical thinking skills. In order for our project to be effective, we had to consider many aspects like target groups, location, partnerships and even a stable source of income. On the other hand, taking this course also gave me an opportunity to work with people from all across the globe. Each class we were required to reflect on what we learned with a new classmate. By talking to people with unique backgrounds, I was able to further understand how problems manifest based on location and environment. For example, Japan faces an aging and declining population, while the United States faces problems like pollution. Therefore, signing up for this course allowed me to develop a more all-rounded mindset.
I think that the summer program at Cornell University gave students a lot of freedom. Other than the three-hour class in the morning, the rest of the day was free and students were not required to do anything. I often used this time to work with my group or study on my own. If anyone were to sign up for Cornell’s summer program, I would recommend that one allocates at least a few hours each day to work on course material. Doing so will be greatly beneficial as one will be able to participate fully in class. Homework and reading are assigned each day so time management is not something that should be overlooked. Although it may seem like a lot of time is available at first, one’s schedule will quickly tighten as the assignments start to get more important. Additionally, it is crucial to take notes in class on what the professor says and what the students say. By taking notes on everything, it is easier to write the required reflections each day.
Cornell University’s Social Entrepreneurship program was an extremely meaningful experience and I would highly recommend it to any student who wants to learn something new and have a more productive summer. This program is great for anyone who is passionate about social change and is thinking of initiating or joining any programs that address social issues, or just for anyone who wants to learn about an important topic that is often overlooked.
