Where Rachel is from

Austin, Texas, USA

 

Interview

What was your dream when you were a kid? What was the reason?

I wanted to be a princess. I liked the idea of decision-making, pretty dresses and parties.

 

What was your dream when you were 18 years old? What was the reason?

I wanted to be a diplomat. I wanted to mend misunderstandings and tackle conflict with enduring and equitable solutions.

 

What made you start thinking about social entrepreneurship/social enterprises? When was that?

Back in 2009 I was a sophomore in college and my good friend and I wanted to go on an adventure in the form of a summer internship. We ended up in Dhaka, Bangladesh for a student internship at a bank called Grameen. Unbeknownst to us, that steamy summer at a Nobel Peace Prize winning bank would introduce us to lifelong friends and a new concept of human development called social entrepreneurship.

 

How much do you think social entrepreneurs play an important role in the world?

I think of worldwide development is one giant ecosystem. I believe that social entrepreneurs play an important role in that ecosystem, driving sustainable solutions. However, just like a new business cannot successfully get off the ground with only one founder, social entrepreneurs cannot better the world alone.

 

What would you say to future social entrepreneurs / those who are interested in social entrepreneurs?

Start by loving yourself and the world around you.

 

What is your favorite quote? Who said that quote?

“Of course it won’t be easy; nothing worthwhile ever is. That is why I have always failed where others have succeeded.” – Chief Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther Strikes Again, 1976)

 

Who Rachel is

Rachel is wise and smart. She does not show it much, but she is also full of passion. The more you talk to her, the more you get to know her, like you are pulling her out of her shell.

Rachel has so many friends. She is with her friends often and people are always around her. And yet, I feel that she is, in a sense, a lonely wolf. It is hard to explain but I feel it to be true. Rachel is strong and independent enough to stand alone, so she can make correct decisions.

She shared a story with me once, explaining that she was different from others and it was hard finding where she belonged  when she was 18 years old. However, one day, a word saved her — the word “unique.” She figured out that she can be unique from others, she can do what she wants to do and who she wants to be. Now Rachel is finding out what only she can accomplish in her life.

Rachel is such a lovely person, I mean her behaviors are literally lovely. She loves dancing, as anyone who has been around her enough knows very well. The way she dances and acts is dramatic, as if she were like an actor in a musical. She always entertains us, like an actress from “Enchanted.”

 

Awesome Episode

Some of our fellow MSEs, Camilo and Alison, organized a short trip called the “MSE Retreat.” Rachel and I were on the same driving team, which meant we were in the same rented car for the commute. It was four hours of driving one way. Another side of Rachel that I need to mention here is that she is very responsible, so she drove the whole  trip by herself because none of us had driver licenses. Well, I had an international driver license but she volunteered as a driver. We wanted a fun drive, not boring one.  A very, very important thing about Rachel is that she loves karaoke. Well, I do too, so the whole 8 hour drive turned into a moving karaoke box. We found out that both of us love the TV show GLEE so we chose the GLEE soundtrack and kept putting the music on the phone. It was the best and most fun drive of my life. Needless to say, the 8 hours were nothing, the time flew by.

 

The Power of MSE

What Rachel is holding is a symbol called “go-en(ご縁)”, which means ‘fate’, ’destiny’ and ’special tie.’

I believe that it is meant to be that we met in San Francisco! I studied Social Entrepreneurship with Rachel for a year, saying “We will make the world a better place.” I would love to spend the rest of my life with MSEs (Master of Social Entrepreneurship; my classmates) until the very day I die. They have already completely changed my life.

At the same time, however, I also think that we should not be together all the time, because that is not the reason why we learned Social Entrepreneurship. That is not how we will deliver the impact we want to give to society and to the world.

I think MSEs are like dandelions. We were seeded at the first day at Hult and we bloomed on our graduation day. Our mission is that we spread all over the world like dandelions and seed the future, the next generation, from each place where each of us has landed.

本当にありがとう(Honto ni Arigato-); Thank you very very much for everything!! The world needs you! Let’s make the world a better place together!!