When Management & Organization teaching professor Wendy Angst created her class, Innovation and Design Thinking, she aimed to establish an experiential learning opportunity that connected Mendoza students and the St. Bakhita’s Vocational Training Center. St. Bakhita’s is dedicated to helping women in Kalongo, Uganda rebuild their lives years after tragic abductions by the Lord’s Resistance Army. And although the class allowed some students to meet the women of St. Bakhita’s in-person, Mendoza students wanted to continue that connection long after the class ended.
Thus, the Innovation for Impact student club was born. During the 2021-2022 winter break, Angst and 15 students from the club went to St. Bakhita’s where they could see firsthand the difference their work was having. This included the impact of one of their newly launched programs called Innovation Scholars, a funding effort to provide tuition support in the form of a work study model so students can attend the school and learn life-changing skills.
“I think students [were] excited about the opportunity to move beyond a recommendation and have an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and work on implementing their ideas to have a meaningful impact — moving from innovation to impact."
Wendy Angst
Since it was created, the club has raised over $20,000 toward its fundraising goal, which is enough to provide tuition for nearly 40 students, and a full year’s salary for two teachers. Ultimately the club is looking to raise $112,000, which is the annual operating budget for the school, including tuition support.
Club projects span finance, technology, energy, curriculum, marketing and agriculture, and each project vertical has an industry advisor, as well as a graduate student and undergraduate student lead. Plus, there is a real budget to work with and the club measures success by ideas implemented.