An exciting, humbling, and eye-opening learning experience
By Krisha
[It] had me rethink what I want to do with my career.
The Social Impact trip has been very exciting thus far and I am excited to complete the last leg of the trip. The team of students and staff have been very helpful, making this such an even more memorable experience. I would like to break this reflection down in the three areas: company visits, immersion activities, and personal time.
Company Visits:
I found that the Mandate Molefi visit has been my favorite thus far. Although I did my executive summary on this organization, I enjoyed it much more than I originally thought I would. I found the presentation to be similar to what is discussed in OB courses and had me rethink what I want to do with my career. While I enjoy marketing, I do find myself being interested in Human Resources specifically around inclusion and employee growth. I found that this organization reflects the path that many organizations are or should be going. The presenter was eloquent and has created an organization that directly addresses the institutionalized biases of the apartheid. I also found the Eaton Electric visit to be eye-opening in a way I didn’t expect. The need for electricity is not a common conversation in the US because we have access to such luxuries. I find it fascinating that in 2019, countries need to turn off electricity at certain times just to accommodate the population.
Immersion Activities:
I am excited for the safari. This is something that I have always wanted to do and I am excited to actually visit the Pilanesberg and see the animals. I enjoyed the visit to Soweto and being able to walk around, interact with the locals, eat the food and see Nelson Mandela’s home was very humbling. I would have loved to also have mini team discussions or a round table on our suggestions for maybe a semester long project to improve one major issue that is faced in this area. This would be a great opportunity to mix with other universities to actually make a social impact.
I found the apartheid museum to be very educational and allowed me to learn more about how horrible and unjust this systematic oppression was and how it still strains aspects of the culture today. The divides in the culture and the comments by some of the white South Africans showed that the realities differ greatly and more education is needed in that world to understand why the black communities are still decades behind.
Personal time:
I loved the opportunity to travel the city by visiting local shops, restaurants and bars with members of the program. All of the food has been wonderful and the city is vibrant with endless possibilities. This has been a great opportunity to network with individuals outside of my program and industry but who still have a passion for positive impact in communities. The MBA to me is all about mixing and matching strengths for a creative, brighter future and thus far my conversations show that this can happen.