Caitlin Ewing '09

Santa Clara University, Santa Clara CA

(Summer 2008)

Using the Entrepreneurship offered course offered in the spring of 2008 as a catalyst, Caitlin Ewing '09 jumped headfirst into social enterprise.  She spent the summer at Santa Clara University, working on a project mentored by Professor Eric Carlson.  The project cumulated with a presentation at the Global Social Benefit Incubator, an international program at which social entrepreneurs from around the world can learn how to strengthen their business plans to achieve scalability or how to expand their business.

Says Ewing, "Professor Carlson's Entrepreneurship class and an independent study with Professor A'amer Farooqi that led to the development of this model were integral to my experience with this internship."

"I don’t really have words to explain how wonderful it was to participate in this seminar. It was one of the prouder moments of my life - the feeling of accomplishment was incredible. Just to mix with the people there was amazing; speaking like a true ECB student, I was star-struck by the power of the businesspeople in that room. People, academics and business alike, whose work I’ve read and studied and followed over the years were right there, working next to me at the same desk and sharing good-humored grumbling about the quality of the coffee. I certainly never imagined I would be in a position where so many people I had admired were coming to me to tell me I had contributed something innovative and valuable to this process, which has become somewhat of a Holy Grail for anyone interested in social enterprise and development. Overwhelming, certainly, but something I’ll never forget."

Click here to read Caitlin's internship blog.