HBS Essay #3B. Discuss How You Have Engaged With A Community Or Organization.

Whether in serving as a Hillel peer counselor or in running a week-long onboarding program for new Deloitte analysts, mentorship and teaching have played a long-standing role in my life. I gain tremendous satisfaction from enabling an individual to better realize his/her potential. As such, in relocating to Chicago in 2006, I chose to quickly align with a middle school that follows the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a curriculum that seeks to equip underprivileged students with the knowledge, skills, and character traits to succeed in top-quality high schools, universities, and beyond.

My initial efforts involved leading a team of four Deloitte analysts to plan and teach a Saturday school course in drama and theatre. The team and I collaborated to research the key topics, plan effective delivery of the curriculum, and ultimately teach the course. The class was extremely well-received with many of the students commenting that it was their favorite class at the school.

Following teaching drama/theatre, my leadership role deepened. First, I oversaw Deloitte’s involvement with the Saturday school program. This meant engaging three other teaching teams from Deloitte, transferring “best practices” to them, and overseeing the teams’ curriculum development and execution. I also took lead roles in facilitating activities at KIPP such as field day events, and school improvement activities such as developing an electronic organizational system for the library. Additionally, I led other skills-based community service initiatives such as an analysis of how KIPP could improve its recruitment and retention of teachers. Most recently, I have worked with KIPP leadership to establish a formal mentorship program wherein we will pair Deloitte practitioners with students to serve as positive role models as well as to provide academic and application support. I believe my efforts at KIPP have tangibly impacted the students’ chances of acceptance to top high schools, as well as their appreciation for a vision beyond the poverty-stricken neighborhood in which they live.

My involvement with KIPP has helped to crystallize an important personal passion: the intersection of business and management skills with the non-profit sector. As I endeavor to bolster my ability to positively impact organizations such as KIPP, I could not have been more excited to learn about HBS’s New Orleans IXP and other projects with the Social Enterprise Initiative and Social Enterprise Club – these opportunities will most effectively translate my skill set to the pursuit of social good.