Business and Social Innovation Class Lays the Groundwork to Propel Social Impact in Mexico

Clinical Professor of Management Moriah Meyskens and her Fall 2018 Business and Social Innovation class worked on a project that partnered students with Edify, a faith-based non-profit organization dedicated to contributing resources that advance the education systems for children in impoverished countries.

For the project, students conducted feasibility research studies to find out if low-fee, faith-based, independent private schools exist in Tijuana and Chiapas, Mexico, with the intention of helping Edify identify if these would be viable markets to provide microloans that will improve the quality of education in those regions. In doing so, they had the opportunity to apply the University of San Diego School of Business philosophy of using business as a force for good on an international scale.  

Through her dedication to creating a values-based curriculum and engaging students in international exchanges, Meyskens prepares students to be socially responsible leaders in the global business world.

“I like to give students the opportunity to have an international experience,” says Meyskens. “I provide opportunities where students are able to learn about and participate in global initiatives that are helping society in some way - even if that international opportunity is just across the border here in Mexico.”

Rachel Christensen, Assistant Director of the Center for Peace and Commerce, also played an integral role in the class, helping to organize the project that partnered Professor Meyskes’ class with Edify.

"Working with students on this very practical consulting project with a social impact organization really taught me the power of intercultural and international business,” says Christensen. “This experience taught the students and me about empathy, cross-cultural listening, and the importance of context—all things vital to 21st- century business."

During the project, students not only traveled to Mexico to conduct research, they also worked alongside Mexican university students who helped translate resources from Spanish to English. While the research may have been grueling at times, Meyskens’ students were proud to have worked on a project that has the potential to make a positive social impact in the world.

“This opportunity to gain international experience through the classroom was wonderful and exciting,” says Francesco Panegrossi, a student in Meyskens’ Business and Social Innovation class. “We interacted with members of the community and visited schools in the area that contributed to our feasibility study with Edify.”