Business students aren’t just motivated by dollars and cents.
Accounting grad Jeremy Sookhoo was looking for a career that would be both exciting and meaningful when he found the perfect opportunity: an internship with the University Impact Fund, now called the Sorensen Global Impact Investing Center (SGIIC). Sookhoo, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2013 after participating in the internship, proved that business and philanthropy don’t need to be worlds apart.
Impact investing—where a firm funds a business that creates positive social or environmental changes in addition to paying dividends—is what bridges the gap.
One of the first student-run, impact-investing firms in the world, SGIIC was established in partnership with the Marriott School’s Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance. Through the internship, students receive hands-on experience with leading investment funds, foundations, and social enterprises to analyze investment opportunities in emerging markets. During Sookhoo’s time with SGIIC, he worked with Village Capital, a company that trains and funds entrepreneurs. This connection took him to India where he built financial models and helped social entrepreneurs gain funding from investors.
The internship also provided Sookhoo networking opportunities that helped him reach his career goals at an impressive rate after his graduation. Sookhoo is now an impact investing analyst for Calvert Investments in Washington, DC.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I would find an opportunity in impact investing right away, because it is really a small sector right now,” Sookhoo says. “The Ballard Center helped me gain a network and credibility in a sector that I am really passionate about, and that has ultimately altered my career in a meaningful way.”
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Writer: Alex Burch
