Business Major by Irelyn

Business Major by Irelyn - May 2023 Scholarship Essay

I plan to study business with a specific focus on sustainable business practices. I live in a small community in Montana. As much as I love where I live, I want to have the opportunity, by means of financial support, to attend an out-of-state, top-notch business school that offers a larger population, different cultural experiences, a new community, and an opportunity to increase my exposure to new ways in which to build success in creating sustainable communities and businesses. I want to major in business for the opportunity to come together with people from across the globe to grow and learn about business. I want to study alongside others who are motivated to challenge themselves and who are also passionate about sustainability in our world and specifically business practices.

With my business major, I plan to make a difference in the business world. While business is about solving problems, businesses also contribute to a major problem that I have recognized in the world around me. I have noticed that businesses inevitably create major waste and pollution in our environment, however they are also necessary pieces of society. In regards to this issue, I want to learn how to successfully create a sustainable business and maintain sustainable business practices. I am interested in solving how businesses can better the environment while still creating necessary services and products. With learning how to do this, I hope to set an example for other businesses and lead the way in this newer field of business.

Waste, pollution, global warming, and environmental degradation are largely affecting our planet in recent years and I recognize the negative contribution that businesses make to those problems. I work at a local sandwich shop/deli and as an employee for this business, I notice how this business as well as other businesses contribute to creating waste and pollution. Even as a business that works to recycle as much as possible, there is still a lot of waste that comes out of this deli. For example, everytime an employee touches food they are required to wear plastic gloves which is great for the safety of the customers, however I observe many of my coworkers taking off their gloves every five minutes to answer the phone for 30 seconds to then take a new pair of plastic gloves. This upsets me and is a large contribution to negatively impacting the environment. One can only imagine how other businesses are also negatively impacting the environment.

I plan to develop my identity and a solid sense of self by researching a topic that I see in my everyday life; how businesses can be successful while maintaining sustainable practices. One way I plan to do this is to take advantage of the Study Abroad program that the college I will be attending offers. Learning from other cultures will be a part of my continued development as an activist. I plan to travel to other countries to observe how they uphold more sustainable gas and power usage, manage food waste, and champion green-initiative business practices.

Additionally, through majoring in business and specifically, sustainability in business, I want to grow as a leader to effectively motivate and guide others to implement more sustainable business practices. Already, I am a prominent youth-advocate for zero waste; I educate, recycle, compost, reuse, and consume consciously. I have immersed myself into sustainable work that is being done in my local community to learn more about what sustainability looks like in many different settings as well as begin my work as a sustainable business activist. Currently, I am the treasurer of a nonprofit organization called Non-Toxic Grow Safe Missoula that works to educate and prevent the usage of toxic chemicals on public lands. I plan to obtain a business degree in order to continue to gain experiences to learn more about what sustainability looks like in different atmospheres. By taking my college years and using the values and passion I already obtain to continue to learn and gain awareness about the impact that businesses have on our environment, I will be more able to make positive changes within my local business community by starting a sustainable business of my own.

Having successfully obtained a business major, in ten years, I ideally see myself in a place of financial security so that I can successfully run a business of my own that focuses on sustainable practices. Modeling and teaching ways in which to be gentle to our environment will always be in the forefront of my goals.