This blog series offers a glimpse of reSET’s summer internship program in entrepreneurship and social enterprise. The series will aim to capture interns’ experiences, both with reSET’s curriculum and the startups that they are working alongside. Our first blogger, Kay Wilcox, currently attends UConn.

I started college at UConn as a Psychology major. I then changed my major to Nursing, and then to Sociology, and then to Human Rights, and then to Political Science, and then to Economics, and then to International Relations. While what I am studying has changed dramatically over the past two years, what I want to do when I graduate has remained largely unchanged. I want the opportunity to address issues, create change, and make an impact. I have finally settled on an individualized major in Global Economic Development and Social Innovation, with a secondary major in Human Rights. Merging these different fields allows me to combine my passions with a hands-on approach to creating a direct impact. Business, technology, and innovation have the power to change the way we perceive the world. By applying these concepts to social issues – rather than just utilizing a non-profit structure or social activism to change public policy – we can create new opportunities for change. I aim to spend my career advancing the social enterprise sector while using entrepreneurship to drive economic development.

I first learned about reSET at UConn’s Careers for the Common Good Career Fair. I loved the idea of a social innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem. I am now about halfway through the program, and I could not be more thrilled with my experience. I work out of reSET three days a week, and I am paired with two different businesses. I work with Golden Bristle (a mindful leadership training company) on exploring the potential of expanding into online course offerings. I also work with Elidah (a medical device start-up) on developing an export business plan. Once a week, all of the interns have a professional development training. So far, we have covered the basics of business model theory, and we are just starting to participate in the reSET Innovation Challenge. We have been divided into three teams, and tasked with creating a business model to tackle a social or environmental problem of our choosing. The Challenge will culminate with a venture showcase in mid-August that is similar to the one that reSET hosted this past spring and will be attended by local entrepreneurs, mentors, college representatives and investors.

Before working at reSET, my understanding of business was fairly cursory. Most of my coursework had centered on human rights, politics, and macroeconomics. So far, this internship has given me the opportunity to explore new areas and to develop new skills. The projects I am assigned have been challenging and different from the work that I have done in class and in previous internships. Working out of this entrepreneurial environment has also given me the skills, resources and inspiration that I need to develop my own ideas for social enterprise. I plan on launching my own business before I graduate college so I can work on it full-time when I graduate.