![\"In](\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/meghancarlsengsbf\/files\/2016\/04\/Mexico-pic-5-300x225.jpg\")
In Ensenada, building a home for the pastor and his family next to their church, Iglesia de Todos Los Santos<\/p><\/div>\n
they sought to make a positive impact on their neighbors. There, I helped lead teams to complete projects and host vacation bible schools, but above all that, we made lasting relationships with people who were very much like us in many ways, even if materially or financially they had less. Regardless of what we had, however, we cared for each other and learned from each other, trying our best to help one another.<\/p>\n
The flame for service was fanned as I went with my family on a mission trip to Ecuador after I graduated high school. We worked at El Jardin del Eden, a group home for children whose parents were incarcerated, had passed away, or were otherwise unable to take care of them. It was there that I met Roberto and heard how he started El Jardin. When Roberto saw that some children were living in the local prison cells with their incarcerated parents, placing them not only in a<\/p>\n
![\"At](\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/meghancarlsengsbf\/files\/2016\/04\/Ecuador1-225x300.jpg\")
At El Jardin del Eden with two of the wonderful children that have a home with Roberto and his family there<\/p><\/div>\n
resource-limited environment but also a dangerous one, Roberto took it upon himself to take the children out and start a home in his church\u2019s barn where he determined he would raise them. With the help of some women from his church, one of whom later became his wife, Roberto now houses over fifty children at El Jardin, which has dormitories, a cafeteria, a church and a playground. Hundreds of children have lived there over the past 25 years, each one as much a son or daughter to Roberto as the next. This is one of many experiences where I can remember standing in stark amazement at what a person can do with a leap of faith, determination and innovation.<\/p>\n
Since coming to Santa Clara University, I have been exposed to many more such experiences where the accomplishments of others for the common good have inspired me. I came to SCU because of its Jesuit philosophy centered on education of the whole self and the promotion to use that knowledge to serve others. Looking for guidance and discernment upon leaving high school, I knew no matter what I wanted to do as far as my career goes I wanted my life to be centered around continuous learning and serving.<\/p>\n
I quickly declared a Psychology major, eager to help with mental health issues as I feel they are underrepresented in our current culture and healthcare system. Not long after, I declared a Religious Studies minor, hoping to further my understanding of different faith traditions and their influences on culture and values, as well as further my own spiritual discernment. Later on, my exposure, personally and academically, to health issues in developed and developing countries motivated me to add a Public Health minor so that I could learn more about how both physical and mental health issues can and should be addressed in various contexts.<\/p>\n
My second quarter in college, I took a course called Technology for Social Justice where I first learned about social enterprises and their innovative movement to eliminate poverty. I was invigorated and inspired by the way social entrepreneurs approached social impact in humility, eager to learn and eager to promote change from the inside out, disrupting a vicious cycle and providing the opportunity for those within that cycle to share their gifts and potential.<\/p>\n
It was during this course that I first heard about the Global Social Benefit Fellowship. The work and research the fellows did with rising social entrepreneurs was incredibly exciting to me. As a freshman, however, the idea of working with this movement that was so new to me and outside of my comfort zone was a little overwhelming.<\/p>\n
Winter quarter of my sophomore year I went to study abroad in Barcelona where I fell in<\/p>\n
![\"My](\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/meghancarlsengsbf\/files\/2016\/04\/Barcelona-300x200.jpg\")
My boyfriend Chase and I in my favorite spot in Barcelona – Mount Tibidabo<\/p><\/div>\n
love with the city, the language and travel in general. I was lucky that my family provided me with many more traveling experiences than most people have, but studying abroad in Spain was the first time I had done extensive\u00a0traveling on my own. From this experience, I was able to see more tangibly the influence of different cultures and the importance of fully understanding culture and background in order to fully understand the situation, actions and values of any particular person. Additionally, the independence I gained from being able to navigate novel or uncertain situations was an invaluable gift, motivating me to believe I\u00a0am capable of\u00a0more than I might have thought.<\/p>\n
Through out this time, the feeling of excitement for social entrepreneurship stirred within me and, back at SCU, I decided to take the follow-up course, Entrepreneurship for Social Justice, to gather more information and further my discernment. That spark only grew from there and I continued to feel this deep pull within my chest to learn more. It was as if so much of what I longed to do and the values I held overlapped with what I read about in case studies and heard from entrepreneurs that I was just in disbelief as I watched the puzzle pieces come together before me.<\/p>\n
With my newfound independence and the flame inside me rising, I knew I had to pursue the Global Social Benefit Fellowship. Now that we have started our journey and preparation to work with Nazava, I can\u2019t believe all the steps that led me to this point. One of the many things I have learned through my ongoing discoveries about social entrepreneurship is that no one succeeds on their own. Through out my life, my family\u2019s<\/p>\n
![\"My](\"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/meghancarlsengsbf\/files\/2016\/04\/Family-Edited-300x200.jpg\")
My parents, as well as my younger brother and grandmother, all together this past Easter<\/p><\/div>\n
example and encouragement started the fire within me to serve. Over the past six years my boyfriend has stood by me in the process of discernment, motivating me to pursue changing experiences and see the world through different eyes. My friends have acted as an invaluable resource to me, encouraging growth as I have shared my passions with them and they have shared theirs with me. My understanding of vocation is that it is deeply personal yet deeply interconnected. Therefore, my story is incomplete without the intertwining of other people\u2019s stories and self-discoveries.<\/p>\n
I am excited to intertwine paths with Nazava and learn from their stories. The call to disrupt a cycle that needlessly reproduces disadvantages and lost potential is one I feel has been passed on to me from many others. Yet, it is also something I feel has risen up from deep within me. While I am not a social entrepreneur myself, I feel called to participate in this movement and further its impact. I feel lucky every day to have been led to people, experiences and a program like the Global Social Benefit Fellowship that fan the flame inside me and bring the pieces of myself together to form a fuller picture. I can\u2019t wait to see what that picture might hold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I come from a family where \u201cgiving\u201d is a given. My parents led by example, using their expertise (my father as a business man, my mother as a pediatrician) to make their impact on the community and the causes that … Continue reading