Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Charity. That last word may not immediately come to mind when thinking about the MBA experience at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. However, “Encouraging philanthropic involvement and school unity through volunteering and fundraising efforts” is the mission of the Leading With Service Club, a Rady School student-run organization that organizes events aimed at raising money for local charities.
“[Leading With Service] is different from other clubs in the sense that it’s a way for us to connect more with the San Diego community through volunteering, fundraising, sports and other Rady events,” said full-time MBA student and Leading With Service club member Keith Louie (’15).
In fact, MBA students and alumni have numerous opportunities to create social and environmental value by offering their time and effort through Leading With Service. These opportunities span from exploring potential areas of career advancement to seeking out community involvement outside their careers. Regardless, the Leading With Service Club provides a fun way for Rady School MBA students to connect to local and international communities on issues of personal interest, society and the environment.
In recent years, the club has hosted trivia nights, dodgeball tournaments and beach cleanups, with the proceeds going to local charities such as the Nicholas Conor Institute, which supports research into childhood cancer. On May 17th the group will host a five-on-five soccer tournament on campus, with the proceeds benefiting Plant With Purpose. A trivia night will also be held before the end of the school year, said Louie.
For the past two years the club has been run by full-time MBA students from the Class of 2015, but recently leadership has been handed to class of 2016 students Hiro Matsunami, Yoshi Ichinowatari, Aaron Chu and Karel Reyes. The new leadership team will meet over the next few weeks to start planning next year’s events, so any students interested in participating in the group should attend if possible, said Louie. Interested students can contact the club here.
Want to learn more about Rady’s MBA experience? Download our eBook featuring student and alumni insights on why they chose Rady, where Rady alumni work, the top benefits for Rady students and more.
Will Bigham is a member of the Rady Full-Time MBA Class of 2015. Before coming to Rady, he was a reporter for seven years for daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. He is currently an intern at Brain Corporation, a San Diego robotics startup.