I am a HBA1 student with an interest in social entrepreneurship and sustainability. I aspire to one day work for a social enterprise with a focus on sustainability, or start one. Upon attending one of the sustainability conferences this year lead by the certificate program, I realized that many of the students I met there currently completing their certificate shared similar values with me in regards to stewardship. This past summer I worked in the urban slums of India and realized how valuable some of the resources we take for granted in North America are those in dire poverty. I hope this program will show me opportunities on how I can help make the world a better place through a business perspective.
Additional Information
Personal definition of sustainability:
Sustainability to me is the ability to recognize the scarcity of natural resources and involve in actions that can ensure that everyone on this Earth gets their equal share. It is also about refraining from taking things away from the Earth that is not ours to take. As a vegetarian, I believe strongly in the preservation of animals and that they are beings and not commodities with futures that are up to our discretion. While both these statements are very idealistic, I believe that in the future we will look back at our society and be shocked at how "unsustainable" we were.
Sustainability in Action:
I wish to incorporate sustainability into my career in two ways. As I plan to first enter the corporate world for a number of years before focusing entirely on social responsibility/sustainability, I hope to learn as much as I can about the current corporate stance on sustainability and network with those trying to make a difference from within. If possible, I would like to join the corporate responsibility group of a multinational corporation in order to promote change from there.
Second, I hope to one day be able to sit on the board of a not-for-profit with an emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility. To me, sustainability is not just about the preservation of natural resources, but also about the recognition that every single human being have substantial "human capital" that deserves to be nourished and developed.
Finally, I aspire to work for or start a social enterprise in part to promote and prove the possible harmonious relationship between sustainability, social responsibility, and businesses.
Engagement in Sustainability:
Last summer, I worked as an intern at a solar energy social enterprise focused on bringing renewable energy and independence to the urban slum dwellers of Bangalore, India (Selco India). From that experience I saw firsthand how crucial resources such as water and electricity are, how difficult they are to come by in slums, and how detrimental the lack of such resources can be to families. It is literally a matter of life or death when it comes to women being attached on their way to public outhouses as a result of a lack of street lighting, or newborns contracting diseases from unclean drinking water. As a type 1 diabetic living in possibly the country with the best public health care system in the world, it was heartbreaking for me to see children dying from the same disease in hospitals in India due to a lack of supply of medication (insulin). The lack of medical resources in countries such as India is also very concerning. That experience changed my life, and I hope to do something about North America's ignorance to the value of resources through my professional career.
In the summer of 2015 I will be interning as an auditor at KPMG in Toronto. I have insisted in auditing for the not-for-profit group, and I hope to gain some insight into the these organizations and how they are managed through that experience.
Amy Zhou
