This blog post is part of Akhila’s “Be the change” series and is also posted on her website here. Much thanks to Akhila for hosting this awesome series – I suggest you check out all the other entries! All have great insight
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I’ve been attempting to find time and contribute to this awesome blog series “Be the change” thanks to Akhila, and of course, I am writing this instead of working on a paper that’s due in a few days.

Prior to attending school at UC Berkeley, all I knew was that I was interested in “business” and “changing the world” (or more specifically, I used to say “starting a revolution”). Little did I know that individuals such as Muhammad Yunus were already doing so! My friend introduced me to the concept of “social business” and “social entrepreneurship” around second semester of my freshman year, and that was when it all began.

I embarked on a Google-ing, internet-searching quest to learn more about this concept, and ended up first reading Yunus’ book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. From then on, I’d continue to read articles, books, and scour the Internet for more about social entrepreneurship and social business.

I often stop and reflect on why it is I seem to have this insatiable need and want to help others and improve the lives of the less fortunate. For the most part, I think it’s because I have grown up with so much opportunity laid in front of me, the privilege of living in a nice community and have the comfort and support of my parents. Maybe I was too comfortable that I became uncomfortable with my comfort. Does that make sense?

Perhaps it’s why I want to pursue a career in poverty alleviation through the power of social business and entrepreneurship. I happened to be born into a family that gave me the opportunity to obtain a good education. It was chance that I was born in Taiwan to parents who wanted to pursue a better life in the United States and brought my sister and I here. What about others who live in poverty and are not presented with the opportunity of obtaining an education, of living a privileged life? How is it their fault?

It’s not, and it’s a thought that resounds in me and propels me forward. I joined a student grassroots organization CalPIRG my freshman year, and by the second semester my friend and I started the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign, where we tried to tackle food insecurity in West Oakland. I then proceeded to help plan, in collaboration with two other student groups on campus, a conference on hunger and homelessness in the Bay Area. On the side, I worked with a local homeless shelter to establish and implement recycling and composting programs through another student organization BEACN. These experiences have helped me improve my skills and have provided me more insight in ways of addressing poverty. However, the models and methods of social business and social entrepreneurship are what really motivate me.

I’ve found it difficult to advance much in attempting to be more “in” the field (I am so inspired by social businesses such as the one I interned with this past summer World of Good, and projects such as the Allyu Initiative), because I often find myself constrained in my schoolwork and the fact that I am still in school. I’m often impatient in my demands, and too much of the time I’d rather be out there and immerse myself in a community and area to learn about the issues and critically evaluate ways to tackle them. I have to stop and remind myself that my getting an education is an important aspect: I need to focus on learning as much as I can in school so that I can apply it later on.

In the meantime, I have found the Twitterverse and the blogosphere to be of great company. It’s been absolutely inspiring and just plain awesome to be connected to other Gen Y-ers such as Akhila, Dwight, and Leslie and know that there are so many who are interested in similar topics and care about issues other than the best way to maximize profits and how to make the most money. So, I’d like to conclude by thanking Akhila once again for encouraging others to engage in social change and bringing together awesome individuals in this blog series!

My sister commutes to UC Riverside for school on Mondays-Thursdays (I know, crazy, right?), and I’ve never been to her school before. She is a sophomore. Yeah, that’s pretty sad that I’ve never been there. But since I figured I’m still on my winter break and have nothing to do anyway, I’d go with her one of the days and also visit some of my friends who go there.

Now, let me say some things first: my sister hates UCR. The reason she commutes is because she thinks UCR is too ghetto and sketchy, and she doesn’t like the people there. She also hates the area, and feels like there’s nothing to do. So, that being said, I went on Monday with my sister expecting some pretty shitty things.

Now, to my surprise, I actually liked UCR. The campus itself is fairly large, and it’s new (compared to Berkeley and most of the other UC’s). It’s spacious, the architecture is nice…I’m not quite sure why she doesn’t like it. So I guess we established that the campus isn’t ghetto, but the area around it is. There’s a nice University Village just outside of the campus, and it’s got a movie theater, tons of places to eat, two Starbucks, a GameStop, and other stores. And, there is also student housing inside the University Village plaza place, and it looks nice as HELL! I said she should totally live there next year…

UCR is different from Cal because I guess people drive a lot, since it’s so spacious, whereas at Cal you can’t drive through campus!! UCR’s campus actually kind of reminded of UCSB, just because it’s got the “chill” atmosphere and has a lot of space and everything is just spread out. So…I really am not sure why she hates it. I think if that were my school, I would definitely not hate it as much as my sister does.

What surprised me though was the lack of active clubs. I asked my friends to take me to where the clubs usually would be. And all I saw were frats/sororities recruiting. This is the beginning of their quarter. This is the prime time for clubs to recruit new members. At Cal, almost all clubs (or at least the clubs that count) are recruiting like crazy. But seriously, at UCR, the clubs were no where to be found. I was a bit disappointed at that…and refused to believe there weren’t any clubs. So after I got home, I went on UCR’s website and looked it up. And for this year, there are over 150 clubs registered with the school! What the hell, where ARE they???

Universities and colleges are the breeding grounds of activism and student involvement, especially through clubs where students can bond through common interest. So why is it that only fraternities and sororities are recruiting there? I wonder if this happens on all other college campuses, or is UCR just a special case? I’m a bit confused. And a bit disappointed.