Alisha Mithal (am2658) HADM 4125

April 16th, 2019 Celebration Recap

During my first time at Celebration, I learned how vast the entrepreneurship network is
across the different schools within Cornell. Before exploring the Symposia Sessions, I did not
consider how so many diverse organizations could be involved in entrepreneurship.
For example, I decided to attend a panel session on Friday called “Teach Global – Grow
Local: Understanding the Impact of the BofA Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell
and Cornell Law School’s Entrepreneurship Law Clinic.” I was intrigued by this session in
particular because I was not aware of either of these two programs, and I wanted to learn more
about how they were impacting the Cornell and Ithaca community. I was also drawn to the
concept of “Teach Global, Grow Local” because even though I have aspirations to effect change
on a global scale, it is okay to “start small” and focus on creating sustainable change. For me,
starting in one’s own community is a step in the right direction.
The first speaker, Kirsten Barker ’92, explained how the BofA Institute for Women’s
Entrepreneurship at Cornell aimed to empower women of all backgrounds across the country in
their entrepreneurship journey by providing them with technical knowledge for forming an
enterprise. A no-cost course is offered through eCornell, and unlike other online courses, there
was a networking component and human interaction in the course. Barker was able to learn about
participants and their journeys, 16% of whom did not have the opportunity to finish high school.
On the other hand, some women had completed their PhDs. The program was incredibly diverse,
but the information was applicable to all. I was excited to see Cornell’s commitment to education
go beyond its students, and how the lessons learned in the course have already proved useful to
women entrepreneurs.
I avidly believe in making education more accessible, and I plan to be more proactive in
identifying such opportunities on campus and beyond, and spreading the word. There is a
plethora of programs that minority communities can benefit from but are not always unaware of.
Similarly, Cecilia Bigoness, the Director of the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, identified
how law students gain practical experience by providing pro-bono business law services for
clients – often individuals, non-profits, or start-ups from the Ithaca community who might not
have access to business and law services otherwise. Some of these businesses have included
social enterprises. As such, both programs are working to empower those in the social
entrepreneurship space and help people establish their own social enterprise.
It is interesting how the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic has leveraged education in a way
that benefits the students as well as helps the community. I am a Co-founder of Social Enterprise
at Cornell (SEC), and a key goal the club has this semester is establishing a program where
students can provide business services for social enterprises. Given the competitive nature of
business organizations on campus, it can be difficult for students to learn about career paths such
as consulting, investment, and design, especially having no previous experience. I hope to
structure the program similarly to the clinic so that any student who is interested can learn about
business and gain practical knowledge by working with a social enterprise client. Not only do
students gain social consulting, impact investment, and social design experience, they are also
contributing to a social enterprise.
I was not able to attend another session or stay after the session to network with the
speakers and panelists due to the fact that I was quite ill, but I look forward to attending
Celebration events in future years, especially given how much I learned from one panel.