Current Students

Headshot of Joyce

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A., Social Enterprise

Joyce Anglade is a professional in the DMV area who is passionate about the state and identity of black people, particularly Africans, on the global stage. She wishes to help people find their integrity through development as pertains to their own traditions and climate, changing the social fabric of their nations and subsequently allowing them to write their own narrative in a world that is colored by the global West. Joyce is excited to take what she learns in her Social Enterprise program at American University to tackle the issues at this intersectionality, as well as the many other issues that plague the developing world.

Headshot of Menbere

Degree (s): James Madison University, Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies (Global) 2013

Pre-AU Employment: Deloitte LLP

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A., Social Enterprise

Career Interest: “My career interest is to help young people get out of poverty through education and entrepreneurship.”

“I chose this program because it will provide me with the tools needed to establish an innovation center for youth. I have always had a passion for education, business, and making an impact in my community and finally found the way to connect the dots through this program.”  

Headshot of Melissa

Degree (s): Syracuse University: B.A. Music/Percussion 2014; M.A. Arts Leadership Administration 2017

Pre-AU Employment: Executive Director for Music for the Mission; Project Lead and Consultant for Wacheva Cultural Arts

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A. Social Enterprise, concentrating in cultural international development with a focus in migration studies

Career Interest: “I want to create engaging, exciting, educational, and epic projects with enthusiastic people all around the world. I hope to do this through research and development for cultural preservation, integration and education for migrants, and refugees, throughout resettlement.”

“It’s almost serendipitous how I came to AU, and in the Social Enterprise program. I’ve always wanted to do more with music, and the arts, and throughout my first Master’s degree I started finding more ways the arts can be a vehicle for change. Moving to D.C. was the next step, and by combining the program, with the location, my previous experience, the people and the opportunities it was the best, and most exciting option. It’s not only about the education and the classes, but being around people who are inspired, excited and pushing the envelope in various ways. Say yes to the opportunities, because even if you don’t know where it leads, it will be an amazing experience.”  

Headshot of Katrina

Degree (s): Rutgers University, Political Science, 2009Pre-AU Employment: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and United States Department of Agriculture

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A., Social Enterprise, Concentration: Impact Investing

Career Interest: I would like to learn from and contribute to innovative community-based programs that changes lives around the world. I am particularly interested in perfecting the unique due diligence process for investment in social enterprises, learning how to scale impact and increasing financial sustainability.

“I chose the social enterprise program because I feel strongly about combining and diversifying approaches to solving social issues. The social enterprise program provides interdisciplinary and cross-sector hands on experience that will help combine my experience in government and politics with my passion for innovation, financial inclusion, and social justice.”

Headshot of Meredith

Degree (s): Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Duquesne University, 2013

Pre-AU Employment: FHI 360, Amizade Global Service Learning

Current Employment: Program Officer, FHI 360

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A., Social Enterprise, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Management for Social Change

Career Interest: Shifting the approach of development aid and interventions through social enterprises and private sector partnerships

“I see the social enterprise program as a way to learn how to lead innovative thinking and approaches in an organization, rather than follow. I know that I want to be working with a dynamic and entrepreneurial approach towards development for sustainable impact and I am excited for this program to help me develop these skills, along with business and research skills.”

Headshot of Marc

Degree (s): Webster University, MBA and University of Mississippi, B.A in International Studies

Pre-AU Employment: Sale and Marketing Manager AVIS Ghana

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A., Social Enterprise with a concentration in Impact Investing

Career Interest: Impact Investing

“American University’s Social Enterprise Program has given me the opportunity to pursue my passion for social change in a strategic way. Through practical experience, and rigorous study, I am building the skill sets that will make an effective agent of social change. ”

Headshot of Hannah

Degree (s): Webster University: B.A. International Human Rights, 2011

Pre-AU Employment: International Institute of St. Louis, Bilingual In-Home Assistant Services, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Global Vision International

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A. Social Enterprise, concentrating in Sustainable Business Management and Development

Career Interest: Pulling together the private and public sectors to achieve the greater social good.

“I believe that no single sector can help to solve the dire issues that surround us. I hope to close the gap between public and private sectors to help humanity solve its complex problems, and I believe a Master’s degree in Social Enterprise from AU will help me to promote this revolution.”  

Headshot of Ifunanya

Degree (s): B.A. Sociology/Anthropology University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Pace University

Pre-AU Employment: Vital Voices

AU Degree Program and Concentration: Social Enterprise M.A. with a concentration in international trade

Career Interest: “I plan to work with communities and governments in LDC’s to develop self-sustaining community institutions and effectively negotiate trade deals with foreign corporations and governments.”

“I chose the SE program because of its potential to use entrepreneurship and economic objectives to achieve social agendas. The SE program is rooted in practicality.” 

Headshot of Charlotte

Degree (s): B.A. in History and Spanish, Minor in American Studies, University of Alabama

Pre-AU Employment: Spanish Teacher, Mount Carmel Academy

AU Degree Program and Concentration: Social Enterprise M.A. with a concentration in Impact Consulting and Intercultural Communication

Career Interest: Educating and empowering marginalized communities in Latin America so that they may benefit from the global market economy

“I was first drawn to social enterprise in the way that it brings together what I thought to be irreconcilable entities: social advocacy and successful business models. Ultimately, I chose American’s program because of the vast knowledge, experience, and compassion of everyone I met affiliated with the program.”

Headshot of Michael

Degree (s): B.A in Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Pre-AU Employment: Assistant Director of Programs and Policy at Achieving the Dream

Current Employment: Assistant Director of Programs and Policy at Achieving the Dream

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A. Social Enterprise, with a concentration in social impact in education policy focusing on higher education.

Career Interest: Quality education, especially higher education, should not be a privilege but a right for everyone, no matter their income or background. Education can be the silver bullet to solving the issues that surround us today and in the future.

“With this program, it gives me a different view of how I can change and disrupt the education policy and the education field in general. Through the SE program, I know that I can make the social change and impact needed through different ways of thinking and approaching our education system.” 

Headshot of Adri

Degree (s): University of North Carolina Wilmington, B.A. in Communication Studies and International Affairs

Pre-AU Employment: Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, AmeriCorps Service Member – Prison Re-Entry Program in Baltimore, Maryland

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A. Social Enterprise, Human Rights

Career Interest: I want to continue working with under-served populations both in the United States and internationally, particularly around human rights.

“I chose SE because I want to challenge myself to learn the hard skills of economics, finance, and entrepreneurship and apply them to sustainable change. I have been fortunate to work with populations such as incarcerated Baltimoreans and their families, and that work shaped my motivation to be in the human rights field. I believe the SE program will provide opportunities to further my education, to take risks, and to collaborate with equally passionate members of the program to work towards a higher cause. I am excited to be here!”

Headshot of Seamus

Degree (s): University of Cape Town: Bachelor of Social Science, Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Graduate School of Business MBA Candidate 2017

Pre-AU Employment: USAID Ethiopia and an adventure tourism startup in Lesotho

AU Degree Program and Concentration: Social Enterprise M.A. with a concentration in entrepreneurship and management for social change

Career Interest: “I would like to work with an organization aimed at helping underserved communities and people to solve the problems they have with the solutions they want.”

“I applied for this program after having just completed an MBA because I knew I needed to do a program that was centered on the social aspect of enterprise, and so this M.A. made perfect sense.”  

Headshot of Betül

Degree (s): Science Education, Boğaziçi University

Pre-AU Employment: Communication & Research at Ashoka Turkey

AU Degree Program and Concentration: Social Enterprise with a concentration in Impact Measurement and Evaluation

Career Interest: “I want to work together with social change agents to leverage their positive and collective impact based on research and reliable data in their specific fields.”

“I chose to study Social Enterprise at American University’s School of International Service because of its interdisciplinary approach where shared wisdom thrives. The program provides us with a unique opportunity of a diverse network including social entrepreneurs, NGOs, business professionals, government agencies and professors in social innovation which is truly needed for having an international perspective on global challenges.”

Headshot of Julie

Degree (s): Greenville College, B.A. 2001

Pre-AU Employment: Building Bridges; Washington Women’s Network

Current Employment: I work as the Student Affairs Assistant here in SIS, supporting student leaders at the undergrad and graduate level.

AU Degree Program and Concentration: M.A. Social Enterprise

Career Interest: Improving advocacy for orphaned and fostered children and their primary caregivers by giving children and their caregivers a voice with the bureaucracies and systems that dictate their standards of care.

“I chose Social Enterprise as I am someone who wants to get good work done and I see practical skills and implementation throughout the SE program. After several trips to children’s homes in Sri Lanka, I have become increasingly burdened by the structures and mandate handed down from international organizations that have not yielded positive benefits on the ground and yet primary caregivers and children themselves have little to no opportunity to share the impact of these decisions on their lives. I’d like to be a piece of bridging this gap so we are doing the best we can to support the most vulnerable citizens of the world.  I believe we need these children and their impact, ideas, and potential just as much as they may need us to improve advocacy concerning their care.”