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| Arsh Haque |
Disgruntled with the isolated reality that college can be at times, friends and I have discussed how so little of it has outer impact. A string of numbers and fleeting relationships that only materialize into real value through the narrow roads of scholarships, grad school, and the job market. Abysmal as this may be – the alumni network provides an alternative. Not just a silver lining, but an expanse of opportunity from individuals once in our position who now inhabit the “real world.”
On return from an internship in Guatemala this summer, I became fixated on two US-Latin American needs: language and culture. Guatemala is interested in English and American culture. The United States is interested in Spanish and Latin American culture. The two regions share complimentary interests and needs – but no mechanism to utilize the other. The response, as all too many arrive at, was clear: a non-profit.
Unfortunately, although having some experience with non-profits, I was generally illiterate on how to start one. Serendipitously, I discovered that I was already part of a network capable of addressing such ignorance. I first met with Mary Kate Lindsey, who gave me an all-serving crash-course introduction to non-profits. I was starkly painted what I needed to achieve and the organization’s development has skyrocketed since.
Moreover, the steps ahead are steeped with McConnell Alumni as well. In search of collaborative partners and insight, alumni have been a willing and encouraging source at every turn. Travel and seminars are unique and enticing experiences – but the Alumni network is perhaps all-together more valuable. Encapsulated in the limited realm of a college-experience, this network is a rare window to achieving real change.
Arsh Haque, of Elizabethtown, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying political science, Spanish, Latin American studies, and creative writing.