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Home // Programs & Centers // Undergraduate Business // Our Community // Service

Service

The Mason School of Business believes that service is an important part of a student’s Individual Program of Study (IPS) and strives to develop the value of social responsibility in our future business leaders. 

Student leaders of the Sports Business Club, Jarrett Burns, Stu Ferguson and Gray Wheatley all completed the rappel.
Special Olympics

Thanks to the Sports Business Club and a host of generous donors, the Griffin went “Over the Edge” for Special Olympics VA. The challenge:  raise money for a great cause. The reward:  rappel down a 15-story building in Norfolk. The Griffin wasn’t alone, however, in representing William & Mary.  W&M Deputy Chief of Police Ed Schardein and Sports Business Club leaders Gray Wheatley,Jarrett Burns, and Stu Ferguson all braved the tall rappel as well.

Together, the Griffin and the Sports Business Club raised over $2,500 to help Special Olympics VA, which allows children and adults with intellectual disabilities to train and compete in athletic events. The Sports Business Club hopes Over is the beginning of a strong relationship with Special Olympics VA.  In addition to continued involvement in various fundraisers, they aim to host a Special Olympics event sometime in the near future.

Check out the Griffin’s fundraising page!  

To learn more about Special Olympics VA and how you support them, please visit their website.  

Two students involved with Net Impact helping to contruct the home for the W&M House Build.William & Mary House Build

Through William & Mary’s Office of Community Engagement & Scholarship (OCES) and Williamsburg-based Housing Partnerships, Inc. (HPI), students helped construct a 490-square-foot house on campus. Faculty, staff and several student organizations, including Net Impact, contributed to the W&M House Build project.

Alongside professionals, the undergrads went to work with hammers and nails. After the addition of indoor plumbing, central heat and air conditioning, the completed house will be given to a senior citizen in the area. This event not only helped a local resident in need, but further strengthened relationships within the W&M community.

Ashley Post with children in Guatemala, after holding a trash clean-up parade through town.Social Entrepreneurship

Through a partnership with W&M’s Office of Community Engagement & Scholarship, students have the opportunity to be part of the social entrepreneurship movement. Through these programs, students can apply the business techniques they’ve learned in the classroom to current social problems.

Greg Van Kirk, founder of Social Entrepreneurship Corps (SEC), came and spoke to students at the Mason School of Business and encouraged them to “think big, act small”. He and other social entrepreneurs will speak at William & Mary’s Active Citizens Conference this February.

Learn more by reading about recent graduate Ashley Post's or Senior Kaveh Sadeghian's experiences working with Social Entrepreneurship Corps in Guatemala.

Kaveh Sadeghian with a child he worked with in Guatemala.Student Experiences

Students in the Mason School of Business find a variety of ways to serve, from international trips to community service and volunteering for the school. Through William & Mary sponsored programs, students Ariana Berger and Anna Mahalak taught students English in Beijing and Bosnia, respectively. Through the Social Innovation Program (SIP) with the Phoenix Project, Senior Xiaoyu Guo served as a consultant for a business in an economically distressed community in Virginia.

Other students volunteer through organizations like the Conversation Partner Program and the Student Organization for Medical Outreach & Sustainability. Additionally, a number of our students also give back to William & Mary by serving as student mentors, campus tour guides and orientation aids. To learn more about individual service experiences, check out our Student Profiles!