With Women\u2019s History Month ending on March 31, one particular woman is closer to making her own history as an independent entrepreneur, thanks to the work of a 每日大赛 Enactus team.<\/p>\n
On March 8, International Women\u2019s Day, the Enactus group drove south across the US-Mexico border to the tiny town of Puerto Nuevo to meet Rosario Lopez, a widowed mother of two, who was eager to build her own business, but needed some help.<\/p>\n
Part of an international nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring students to change the world through entrepreneurial action, the university\u2019s Enactus team has been honored regionally and nationally for the quality and results of its projects. According to Professor of Management Issam Ghazzawi, \u201cthe students channel their energies to create opportunities for those in need. Every person and community we touch is empowered to live to their fullest potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghazzawi led the group of three undergraduates, Luis Vargas, Justin Yeh, and Tracy de los Santos, along with Nora Navarrette-Dominguez and her husband. Dominguez, who directs the university\u2019s Kern County Regional Campus, is Mexican by birth and facilitated the outreach to Lopez.<\/p>\n
\u201dShe is a single parent who had been struggling and suffering since her husband passed away,\u201d Dominguez said.<\/p>\n
Her dream was to open her own catering business, serving the construction workers across the freeway from where she lives.<\/p>\n
Lopez had no business experience and no money for catering supplies and other items, but the students stepped in, listening, advising, and shopping for the staples — coffee, sugar, paper cups, an ice chest — that she needed.<\/p>\n
Following the day of shopping, the university team accompanied Lopez to the construction site to help facilitate her first day of business.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to develop a financial program for Rosario that could help change her life was amazing,\u201d said Yeh, a senior studying economics<\/p>\n
Dominguez noted, \u201cWe will make follow-up calls and pay another visit to ensure support for Rosario for the long term.\u201d\u00a0But Ghazzawi is convinced that \u201cRosario is going to be a very good businesswoman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enactus is committed to the idea of building independence rather than supplying charity, reflecting the adage that \u201cteaching them to fish\u201d is help that lasts a lifetime. The entire project to launch Lopez\u2019 business was done on only a few hundred dollars, which included the travel and lodging for the team, as well as Lopez\u2019 supplies. Enactus projects are funded in large part by corporate partnerships.<\/p>\n
The university team\u2019s departure was emotional and Lopez\u2019s gratitude was evident in her tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to see that something which seems so small to us can mean the world to someone else,\u201d said de los Santos, a third year business administration major. \u201cBeing able to ease Rosario\u2019s life just a little bit meant the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Women\u2019s History Month ending on March 31, one particular woman is closer to making her own history as an independent entrepreneur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1549,283,4814],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-events","category-students","category-laverne-edu-news-university-campus-life","ulv_author-barbara-goen","ulv_author-university-of-la-verne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n