I am a philosophy major at BYU but an entrepreneur at heart. While in college, I started my career in real-estate investing, learning how to flip houses and lease vacation rentals. It was both exhilarating and exhausting.
My business trips consisted of attending the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, flying to the Dominican Republic, and then continuing my travels to Haiti and Hawaii. In each country I worked with property owners and clients, matching them with the vacation rental or home of their dreams. However, amid all my travels, I realized that this realm of the business world may not be the most fulfilling way of doing good or making a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals, which is what I ultimately want to do.
While contemplating my career path at the time, I signed up for the Ballard Center’s Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series and spent a semester learning about what a social entrepreneur was. With my working background, I had learned all about the title of entrepreneur, but I never imagined that role could be focused on solving deep social issues.
I was astounded to find out that there are people in the workforce who use business tactics to make systemic social change and do it for a living. It was as if my two passions in life merged into one.
I went on to take the Ballard Center’s Impact Investing class, which teaches students the ins and outs of making investments that are impactful and financially viable, and I realized that there was a concrete opportunity at BYU to start making a difference immediately through business. That singular class turned out to be the most engaging experience I had at BYU.
Soon after the class ended, I left my real-estate business and was eventually offered a job opportunity through the impact investing class. That opportunity launched me into a career of doing social good.
Looking back, I recognize that the Ballard Center provided a crossroads for me between what I was learning in school and what I genuinely wanted to do. As I continue my career in independent consulting work, I am grateful for my ability to look at things in a different way because of what I have learned at the Ballard Center.
I have applied the principles of thinking critically, asking insightful questions, and measuring impact in my work and all other aspects of my life. As a result, I have felt—and continue to feel—fulfilled every day. I have always believed that doing good better should be a way of life, not just a catchy tagline. This is the reality I have found at BYU Marriott’s Ballard Center.
To find out how you can use your major to do social good head on over to ballardcenter.byu.edu.
Jonathan Engle is a philosophy major and got involved at the Ballard Center through the Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series.
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Writer: Jonathan Engle
