Kauffman entrepreneurial internship expands
By MEGHAN MARTIN
News Writer
In keeping with the Notre Dame tradition of blending practical skills with social responsibility, the Mendoza College of Business has launched its second annual Social Entrepreneur Intern Program through the University's Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Although officially sponsored by the College of Business, the program is open to students from every college and major, drawing participants with such diverse interests as government and the performing arts.
The fusion of real-world experience with community involvement lies at the heart of the program, conceptualized by the Gigot Center as a part of the nationally competitive Kauffman Internship Program. Only 15 to 20 universities are awarded Kauffman grants for their self-designed internship series annually, and Notre Dame's program has consistently received the financial backing to facilitate its success and offer a stipend to each participant.
Central to this success is the Gigot Center's unique approach to the internship experience.
"It's one way to bring social awareness to the business school," past participant Jeffrey Stuffings said. Last summer, Stuffings worked with the staff of the Broadway Christian Parish in the south neighborhoods of South Bend.
"I worked with some neighbors of the community and helped them start their own businesses," he said, detailing a job that entailed everything from obtaining startup capital to marketing the business once it was made public.
Primary among the goals of the program's administrators is to provide participants with the experience of a true social entrepreneur, which, to program director Jim Faulkiner, entails allowing students to dive head-first into the organizations with which they work.
"Our unofficial slogan is "Throw them in the deep end,'" he said, which emphasizes the Gigot Center's goal to give its participants tasks that a typical intern would never do.
"We want students to be able to do the crummiest jobs in the business and the best jobs in the business at the same time," Faulkiner said. He noted that, as they begin to build their businesses, entrepreneurs are forced to perform all levels of menial and specialized tasks, from sweeping the floor to creating an advertising campaign.
Part of the Gigot Center's unique process requires that each participant "sell" the concept of the program to the organizations which they have an interest in working with.
"This, we feel, is part of being an entrepreneur," Faulkiner said
Unlike many institutions of its kind, Kauffman staff members do not place students in specific positions or organizations.
"Starting with this year, we're relying more and more on helping the students find their internships," Faulkiner said, stressing the significant role that such a search will play in the student's future, especially after graduation.
The first question Faulkiner, as the program's adviser, asks each student is "What do you love to do?" From there, they begin to undertake such indispensable endeavors as family networking, contacting the president of their local alumni club and conducting Web-based Google searches.
By doing so, participants are able to find those internships that cater to their personal interests and preferences.
Current participant Mary Godwin, for instance, decided the performing arts were her passion. After conducting a search under Faulkiner's advising, she found a perfect match and is now in the process of negotiating an internship with the Manhattan Theater Project in New York City.
"That's what she found when she thought about what she loved," Faulkiner said.
Godwin, as a member of the growing minority of women involved in entrepreneurial ventures, is also one of the audiences that the Kauffman program has made it a goal to target.
"This is designed to encourage women and minorities," Faulkiner said. "One of the things we want to do is especially get the word out to women that there really is a place for them in business. Starting your own business is a key to economic success."
Although promoting economic success is a significant element of the learning process that goes hand in hand with the Kauffman program, exploring new avenues of interest is also an area of strong emphasis.
"I wanted to do some kind of service work over the summer, and when I heard about this business program, it wasn't for me," Stuffings said, adding that it was the social service aspect of the program that won him over. He soon found that the opportunity would afford him much more than just a summer job.
"I got an appreciation for South Bend ... now I feel like I have a connection to the town," he said. "I was constantly meeting people who were not at all like me, and I gained a little more perspective on things."
Although Stuffings has no intention of shifting his major from government to the College of Business, his experience with the Kauffman program has fueled an involvement in the upcoming Social Venture Plan Awards sponsored by the Gigot Center. As a part of this endeavor, he is competing with a number of current students and alumni who have submitted social venture plans in an effort to garner $10,000 in cash and services.
Springing from his encounter with the community last summer, Stuffings has conceived the plan for what he calls "Broadway Gardens," a greenhouse co-operative in which neighbors grow herbs and vegetables to sell to local restaurants. His project is also part of the three-credit follow-up class that all Kauffman entrepreneur interns are required to attend in the academic year following their summer experience.
On April 26 at the Social Venture Awards, Stuffings and his competitors will vie for the ultimate entrepreneurial prize: capital and backing, through which they will be able to see the manifestation of what can happen when social consciousness and entrepreneurial skills collide.
All News Stories for Wednesday, April 10, 2002
