"I think business is a good answer to a lot of things," Freedman said. "You can't donate enough to lift a billion people out of poverty. You can help them set up their economy."
Peace Corps Volunteer Todd Freedman is now volunteering in Tonga, a small Pacific Island near Fiji, teaching and advising on business
CU-Boulder Business Students and Alumni Help Make a Difference as Peace Corps Volunteers
November 16, 2009
Caption: From left to right, Brian Lewandowski (MBA Leeds School of Business 2007), Todd Freedman (Bachelor's degree management CU-Boulder 2009), and Micah Strand (current MBA student in the Leeds School of Business). Photo by Glenn Asakawa.
Combine the youth and idealism often found on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus with a business degree, and the ability to make a difference in the world takes on new dimensions.
Through the Peace Corps' worldwide volunteer program, Leeds School of Business students and alumni have joined thousands of other CU-Boulder alumni who have contributed to communities around the globe.
"Not only do our graduates join the Peace Corps but we also have attracted Peace Corps alumni to our MBA and other graduate programs, which underscores our reputation as a school that values being engaged in the world," said Francy Milner, who teaches business ethics and social entrepreneurship at the Leeds School.
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Todd Freedman, a 2009 Leeds School graduate with a bachelor's degree in management, is now volunteering in Tonga, a small Pacific Island near Fiji, teaching and advising on business.
"I think business is a good answer to a lot of things," Freedman said. "You can't donate enough to lift a billion people out of poverty. You can help them set up their economy."
Both Strand and Lewandowski said they returned from the Peace Corps with an enriched real-world perspective.
"All these fresh-faced volunteers come onto the island and want to do the same thing: change the world. And they want to do it on the first day," Strand said. But he said nurturing a depressed economy required patience and adaptability.
"Change comes gradually, he said. "The days go by slow and the years go by fast in the Peace Corps."
