International Service & Sustained Commitment

One of the highlights of my undergraduate experience at Elon has been my participation in Periclean Scholars, a selective, co-curricular civic engagement program through which classes of students work on development projects in given geographical regions of focus. I am a part of the Periclean Scholars class of 2012, which has partnered with the nonprofit organization Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) for three years. CRHP is primarily a public health organization, one rooted in a holistic, community-centric approach that places heavy emphasis on community and especially women’s empowerment. Our work in Periclean Scholars has included projects ranging from on-site internships and program funding for CRHP to the filming and production of a class documentary and hosting of university panel discussions.

In spring 2011, my Periclean Scholars class decided in partnership with CRHP to host an international conference focused on corporate social responsibility. Specifically, we aimed to connect nonprofit organizations working in the fields of rural development and women’s empowerment to companies’ corporate social responsibility initiatives, which could serve as sources of sustainable, long-term funding. Our idea was motivated in large part by India’s new Companies Bill 2011, which sought to put national emphasis on corporate involvement in public service by requiring companies of a certain size to devote two percent of their net profits to corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Through work both on the ground in India and at Elon, I took an active leadership role in the development of our conference. My role in our conference included producing several documents included in this portfolio: a conference concept paper, grant application to the American embassy in Mumbai, and nine articles published on our conference site.