Additional Information

Personal Definition of Sustainability
I view sustainability as a framework for decision making that emphasizes the long-run over the short-run. I think fostering a greater focus on sustainability will be the key challenge for our world over the coming decades. While environmental sustainability is certainly a key concern, I tend to think about sustainability more broadly. For example, an area of interest to me is economic development. I believe the current model of development, namely the free market, will be unsustainable in the long-run as structural forces increase income inequality within countries and societal divisions grow out of control. I do not see sustainability as a specific issue, but simply as a different way of seeing the world`s greatest challenges. Therefore, while changing business and government policy is critical in addressing long-term challenges, the fundamental problem lies within how people form perceptions of the world.

Sustainability-in-Action
I worked at the Grameen Bank in the summer of 2010 as an unpaid intern. I conducted a review of the banks` newly formed small and medium enterprise (SME) loan division and reported the findings of the review back to management. I decided to get involved with the internship due to an interest in microfinance. While I had studied the topic at length and had been involved with several related initiatives beforehand, it was truly a remarkable experience to see the tremendous power of microfinance first hand. It is a relatively simple business model, performing the simple function of providing financial services to the poor, but it has the ability to rapidly change the livelihoods of impoverished entrepreneurs and their communities.

I chose to become involved with the SME loan division because I see SME finance as a more important component of economic development in the long run and because it remains a largely undeveloped field. I would encourage the reader to see my article on the subject in the Fall 2010 publication of the Ivey Business Review.

I am also extremely excited to serve as co-president of the Ivey Economic and Political Issues Club in 2011. I was actively involved in the club throughout my HBA1 year and see great potential for the club as part of the HBA curriculum. I hope to bring issues concerning sustainability to the forefront of the agenda, encourage debate and discussion and hopefully create a more well-informed and open minded HBA student body.