Despite their money-grubbing reputation, MBA students have more than their future paychecks on their minds. Through both school and student-driven initiatives, the Olin School of Business continues to provide ample proof that it fosters community responsibility in its students. In addition to the array of activities the business school is organizing to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, business school students are working to strengthen the St. Louis community as well.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, current MBA students, alumni, faculty and staff from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis are teaming up for the first annual Olin Serves Day.
Olin Serves Day provides the opportunity for business students to give back to the community by lending their efforts to three St. Louis organizations: Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps, and the St. Louis Women’s Safe House.
As part of Olin Serves Day, Olin will send student and alumni volunteers to Habitat for Humanity and AmeriCorps service project sites in the St. Louis area as well as to the St. Louis Women’s Safe House. Work at the various sites will include completing a neighborhood of houses; assisting in the organization of an annual fundraiser; and landscaping to help preserve a St. Louis historical landmark, The Father Dickson Cemetery. This cemetery was one of the first public cemeteries for African-Americans in the St. Louis area and is the resting place of soldiers who served in various conflicts from the American Civil War to the Korean Conflict.
With an already full curriculum, why do students need to add another event to their calendars? According to Olin Serves Day committee member, Laura Hosteny, “With classes, projects and all the other things that MBA students should be doing, it is easy for us to get caught up in our own lives. But part of learning about business is understanding the link between a successful enterprise and the community in which it exists. Olin Serves gives us the chance to contribute to a population that is very supportive of Olin.”
The spirit of social responsibility is endemic throughout Olin. The school offers a strong social entrepreneurship concentration that reiterates the close ties between business and community responsibility. What’s more, social entrepreneurs are celebrated and given an opportunity to have even more of an impact thanks to the new Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. Additionally, every year, as part of the Taylor Community Consulting Program, Olin students apply their professional expertise by serving as temporary consultants for area non-profit organizations.
According to newly appointed Dean Mahendra Gupta, “Olin Serves Day highlights the importance of supporting the communities in which we live and work. Instilling this sense of responsibility to the community is a critical part of the education of tomorrow’s business leaders and fits well within the existing curriculum. We hope that Olin Serves Day becomes a tradition here at the business school.”
For further information on the event, please contact Laura Hosteny at hostenyl@wustl.edu.
Olin Serves Day is co-sponsored by Sigma-Aldrich, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Washington University.
Olin Cares is a service organization at the Olin School of Business at Washington University. The purpose of the MBA chapter is to provide graduate business students with opportunities to give back to the St. Louis community and to better understand the role that corporations play in community development.