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Give and Take: Empowering Women in Developing Countries

The Give and Take organization will allow women in developing countries to create new opportunities by teaching them skills that give them the potential to improve their situations. With these skills, they would have the ability to create businesses and provide necessities for their families that may not have been feasible before. Throughout The Blue Sweater Novogratz criticizes the effectiveness of traditional charity. Novogratz in many of her stories explains how grants are not the most effective at combating poverty due to its lack of lasting impact. She says this kind of charity many times defeats the purpose of trying to help those in developing countries by failing to use the money to create a lasting change that can actually address poverty in these areas. In response to this Novogratz uses microloans in attempt to show the women Duterimbere loaned to that they were capable of doing it themselves. My idea for The Give and Take organization takes on a similar philosophy. ...
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A World we Dare to Imagine

“Today we are redefining the geography of community and accepting shared accountability for common human values. We have the chance to extend the notion that all men are created equal to every human being on the planet. This will require global structures and products we are only beginning to imagine.... Each of us in his or her own way can contribute something by thinking -- and acting -- like a true global citizen. We have only one world for all of us on earth, and the future really is ours to create, in a world we dare to imagine together”. -Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater Through the quote above, Novogratz argues that we should redefine the typical standard of success from economic prosperity to helping others. Today, we subscribe to a very individualistic meaning of success, our society has become conditioned to believe that if they alone become rich and/or famous then they have achieved success. This quote presents a counterpoint that to have success we all must work...
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What do you want to be when you grow up?

Since we’ve been young we always get asked this question. For some people they can answer you without a doubt they’ve always known. Others it’s not as easy they get a little uncomfortable and make a joke saying “not be homeless.” The question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” For me, this has always been a difficult one. I’ve always had interests in lots of subjects but never known if I was passionate enough to pursue just one as a career. So when the decision to choose a college and a major came around it was a particularly daunting choice. I had always been passionate about STEM but I also knew I wanted to work with people. So doctor seemed like a sensible option until I realized I couldn’t see blood without turning away in disgust. So I gave up on that option. Then I decided I wanted to be a biomedical engineer. This I pursued for a long time even doing a summer internship at a gene therapy  company. I loved the possibilities the work I was doing had but I ...
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Born on Third Base: Part 3

For my part of Born on Third Base Chuck Collins describes the realities of privilege. Collins writes whether we choose to acknowledge it or not many of us have been endowed with the  “wind at your back” as Collins calls it based solely on your gender, your sexual orientation and most overwhelmingly the color of your skin. For centuries certain people have been playing a rigged game refusing to accept their advantage which has stopped many others from being given equal opportunities. One of the stories Collins recounts is the time he gave a talk at the Norwood Retired Men’s Club. Most of the men there had served during World War II. His talk addressed the disparity between the rich and the poor. He focused specifically on the way World War II was a direct contributor to the wealth gap between white people and black people. He discusses how many of the men benefited directly as a result of subsidies for soldiers coming home after the war. Collins recounts the various ...
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TO: Clark Hansen, CEO, Anima Mundi Development Partners FROM: Olivia Houri, R&D, Anima Mundi Development Partners DATE: March 1, 2019 SUBJECT: Danone Investment Proposal After being tasked with finding sustainable investment opportunities and doing further research I have concluded that investing in Danone would be a smart investment. They have a strong commitment to social and environmental reforms and have been performing better than expected. Danone is focused on selling primarily dairy and plant-based products. They have recently taken initiatives to be more socially conscious creating a healthy wellness brand. They have made it their mission to make good clean products that will allow their consumers to lead healthy lives. To do this they have recently sold off their beer and biscuit businesses and are now only selling products that are truly beneficial to their consumers' health. Not only have they taken socially conscious measures, but they have also taken envi...
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A Weekend in San Diego

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This past weekend was three days long for President’s Day so people were taking advantage of the long weekend to go home and spend time with their families or do something else special. Since I live in New York it wasn’t really worth it for me to go home for three days because with all the traveling involved. It would feel like I was leaving as soon as I got there. So when my friend, Ariella, asked me if I wanted to go to San Diego with her to see her parents and visit around I said yes. It was the first time I would be visiting San Diego. Since enrolling at USC I hadn’t had the chance to explore much of California so I was excited to see a new place and get away for the weekend. Our trip started on Friday afternoon. The four of us piled into the car my friend, her roommate, me, and another girl who offered to give us a ride down. Our drive was pretty easy and there was less traffic than expected. We stopped at a place in San Clemente that my friend had raved about for their delici...
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Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

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You just finished all your homework, and surprisingly you have some time to kill before you go to bed. What can you do? You can go on Netflix and put on an episode of that TV show you kinda like but why not change it up? Why not watch a movie by an award-winning director? Why not watch a Quentin Tarantino movie? This way you’d be guaranteed two hours of enjoyable entertainment before going to bed. If you’re in the mood for some dark humor, gory scenes, violence, and a captivating interwoven storyline then you’re in the right place. His movies draw from many genres guaranteeing an interesting time and with his complex storylines, your eyes will be sure to stay glued to the screen. The Rise of Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino is one of the most famous directors in the world, however, this did not happen overnight. Tarantino is originally from Tennessee but moved to California when he was four. His love of films began at a young age and led him to work in a video sto...
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