Starting the Ripple Effect – Babson BELA
In the last week of June, a group of Babson College students and staff flew into the picturesque Guatemala in order to teach the Babson Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy (BELA) Program, a one-week intensive program that teaches the basics of Babson’s Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A™). We met at the airport and drove to Antigua, where we would be teaching the course during the week.
During the week, we explored different concepts of entrepreneurship closely linked to self-discovery. Our approach was to allow our students to discover their skills and passions in order to understand how to combine them in an entrepreneurial effort. We encouraged participation and initiative, and created a collaborative culture between our students.
Our students were incredible, and surpassed any sort of expectations that we had before the program began. We taught engineers, professors, programmers, students, and novice entrepreneurs. Our students are ambitious community leaders that have, one way or another, stood out. Their energy was exciting, and their eagerness to learn contagious. As a Guatemalan myself, I found comfort in meeting people from different parts of the country working to achieve something great.
From the trip, my biggest takeaway was understanding that every journey is meaningful. In the culture of business, many times we focus on results and the end of things. However, since preparing for this trip for over a year, I have learned to appreciate the smaller tasks that contribute to make something amazing happen such as this program. I understand now that providing access to resources to Guatemalan people is an ongoing process, and I am eager to involve myself more in such efforts.
“Aprende a disfrutarte el proceso. Al final, es el 99% de tu trayectoria.”
Marcel Barascout
I am grateful to have been able to participate in the Babson BELA 2019 program. I witnessed first-hand the beginning of a ripple effect that began with us sharing our entrepreneurial knowledge, knowledge that will be utilized by our students and shared with their communities.
Many thanks to all collaborators: Antigua International School, Me Importa Guate, and Babson College; and our guest speakers: Marcel Barascout, Philip Wilson, and Paulina Bosque.
Lastly, many thanks to the Babson BELA 2019 Team!