Social Entrepreneurship In Higher Education
During these difficult times, many Millenials and Gen-Z are looking for new ways to use career skills to contribute and learn about social, economic, and political issues in their communities. Yet, there are limited opportunities for these group of people to learn about ways they can go about using their skills for social good. Just ask, Dr. Shai Butler, an educator and mentor who believes in the power young people have to change the world.
Dr. Shai Butler is a leader and educator who creates systems that help students advance and succeed in higher education. She mentors individuals and creates a work environment that supports social entrepreneurship. Butler is an executive who holds many responsibilities that centers around helping students find success. She’s written many thought-provoking articles, Higher Ed Jobs, which focuses on an array of social and educational issues. To learn more about how she began this journey into higher education and entrepreneurism, I had the opportunity to speak to her via LinkedIn and email.
Her Inspiration into Entrepreneurism and Education
“I was inspired to do/be this when I was an undergraduate transfer student. I joined a large university where friend groups were already established. I found support and mentorship in campus student life administrators’ offices who helped me get connected and persist through the challenges of college,” Butler said.
After graduating, she worked shortly in business before going for her master’s degree in Higher Education from Albany’s State University in New York. There she choose to pursue a career in the meaningful work of helping others how she was helped as an undergraduate. That has been her life’s work and one of her most successful purposes and most proud.
Her Definition of Social Entrepreneurism
“My understanding of social entrepreneurship is innovating, intending to positively impact individuals or structures and systems that serve individuals towards the betterment of society. A social entrepreneur seeks to build an entity that develops new and creative solutions to societal problems. The entrepreneurial aspects include taking the idea/s and building upon them to make a positive change in the currency outcome of success.”
Though she does not consider herself a social entrepreneur, the reason I chose to interview her was that she creates a safe space where students can pursue their passions and serve their purpose in their communities. She’s a firm believer that God would not place people on the Earth if they were not supposed to contribute back somehow. In other words, everyone has a purpose, and they have to find it.
She defines purpose as a passion someone pursues that forces you to consider your talents, what the world needs, and where you can make the most significant impact. “When passion and purpose align, the door is open to thinking about how you will engage both to identify a group/s where you have influence and an opportunity to improve that group’s life circumstances.”
As mentioned previously on the blog, social entrepreneurism gives young people the chance to utilize their business skills towards a cause they’re passionate about. Without passion, young people and professionals alike cannot find those niche opportunities to contribute to the world.
Why is Social Entrepreneurism Important?
“Social entrepreneurship is important because we have a world with individuals in it who are in great need… In my profession, I work to improve students’ lives, but I also work on issues outside of my profession related to women’s leadership, public health, and civic engagement… Everyone can do something, if not through their profession, then through their volunteer time. We all have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Some are called to innovate and lead that change as social entrepreneurs. Some of us are called to support the work of these visionaries for change. All of us can do something.”
How Social Entrepreneurism Applies to Her Everyday Career
Within her industry, she creates spaces for employees to positively tap into their knowledge, expertise, and interests to innovate to change their institution’s students. By creating teams, empowering staff, and supporting ideas, an environment that rewards social entrepreneurship is established and nurtured. Though she is not a social entrepreneur, she wants to do good and make a difference where she works and serves the community.
In her words, she identifies herself as “an executive leader who works to identify social entrepreneurs among my team within my institution and empower them to be and do what they are called to do to improve the lives of those we serve.”
What Her Work Has Done For The Community
“The work that I have done has served to fulfill one of my life’s purposes. I have been able to help students who were on the verge of dropping out of college by choice or for reasons beyond their control to persist and earn a degree. Some of the students I have helped through my 25-year career in higher education are now teachers, doctors, lawyers, news industry executives, community leaders, and business executives. In addition to their jobs, some are actively engaged in advocacy work, and some are themselves, social entrepreneurs. I am very proud of their achievements and am happy to have played a small part in their success.”
Shai’s Advice on the Importance of Social Entrepreneurship
Butler encourages young professionals and industry experts to look for meaningful work because we spend most of our days there. She said that it’s essential for us todo something that we’re passionate about and engage in meaningful work that positively impacts someone other than oneself.
In her professional opinion, students and young professionals should pursue a career in social entrepreneurship or higher education when the time feels right. She wrote that the time is right when you feel that you have something to contribute to a field and want to use that contribution to better others’ lives. She would encourage anyone to try it out before actually going down that path.
For her, this was to assume positions that would allow me to work with the students directly. However, that path is not for everyone. For others may believe in and want to advance higher education but have different interests and abilities that may make them want to teach, or work in finance and operations, or support college fundraising efforts.
It is all meaningful work that advances a life-changing entity by helping universities to continue to thrive and be viable in fulfilling their mission. Graduate study and internships are an essential part of learning whether higher education or any career is the right role for any job searcher.
For more information about Dr. Shai Butler, visit her website at www.drshaibutler.com or connect with her on linked in at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drshai/ or https://twitter.com/DrShaiButler
References
Butler, S. (2021, January 24). Reply to Interview Questions [E-mail to the author].
Dr. Shai Butler. (n.d). Profile [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved January 24, 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/drshai/
Sargenton, S. (2021, January 25). An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and the Blog: The Community Entrepreneur. Retrieved January 25, 2021, from https://sites.stedwards.edu/ssargent/2021/01/16/an-introduction-to-social-entrepreneurship-and-the-blog