By Emily O’Connor
Jackie Rothmeier is in her 4th year at Northeastern studying International Affairs & Political Science with a minor in Global Social Entrepreneurship. Originally from Hereford, Maryland, Jackie has traveled to the Balkans and to South Africa on Dialogue of Civilianization programs. She has co-oped at Oxfam America and at the Social Innovation Forum. Amidst a busy semester, Jackie graciously took the time to share with us more about her experience and thoughts around social enterprise.
How did you first get exposed to and interest in social entrepreneurship?
I remember hearing some of the older students that I looked up to at the time talking about social entrepreneurship, their experiences with the minor, and their overall interest in the subject. As a freshman at the time, I had no clue what they were talking about but mentioned it to a professor of mine, Denise Horn, who said that she thought I’d really like it. I remember almost blindly signing up for the ENTR2206 course which opened my mind up in many ways and helped me learn and unlearn a lot of my previous ideas about poverty, poverty alleviation, and the role of business through it all. I’ve loved it ever since!
What are some ways you’ve been involved in the social enterprise space at Northeastern, locally and internationally?
The great thing about the social enterprise space at Northeastern is that there are a lot of different opportunities to get involved. During the 2206 class, I remember Professor Shaughnessy mentioning BuildOn as a program that SEI ran at CASH high school and I instantly knew I wanted to get involved. It provided a space where I could mentor teens in high school and work on community service projects with them, I loved it. Additionally, I went on the South Africa Dialogue in 2015 which opened my eyes to a whole new world of social enterprise. For anyone interested in social enterprise and wanting to experience its magic first-hand, go to South Africa!
So, you study political science and social entrepreneurship. How do you view the interaction between the political sector and the business sector? Do you think social enterprise addresses a gap not met by the government? Or do they work together?
This is an incredible question that I’ve been grappling with for quite a while now. I see public service, the social enterprise sector, and the nonprofit sector as the three loves of my life. I firmly believe that all three are incredibly important for the development and empowerment of poverty-stricken communities and in the fight against the global surge of inequality. Yet they do not always work in harmony to address these issues. Traditionally, we have seen a lot of examples of the political world getting involved with the nonprofit sector which has generally garnered positive, mutually beneficial responses. Increased cooperation between all of these fronts, in my opinion, should be emphasized and encouraged, yet there is a point where politics becomes an unwielding tool that can wreak havoc on the other two sectors.
What are some additional areas of study and activities you’re passionate about? Hobbies?
I am deeply and actively involved in the Strong Women, Strong Girls chapter here at Northeastern which both connects me with my Northeastern community more deeply, but more importantly connects me with the larger Boston community as well. I not only firmly believe that all of us at Northeastern have a responsibility to the larger Boston community, and should actively seek out opportunities to engage and empower each other, but I also love to get silly with the girls that I mentor. We work to disprove the statistic that girls’ self-esteem peaks at the ages of 8-11 years old. The girls that we work with are extremely intelligent and capable and proud and earnest and honest and I am proud to even slightly contribute to their overall positive self-esteem every week. I also play the flute and love spending long afternoons in the Museum of Fine Arts!
A word of advice/call to action to other students interested in social enterprise:
I would immediately advise interested students to connect with the SEI team which is always around and willing to introduce these ideas and concepts to interested students. Additionally, I would always suggest taking ENTR2206 in any capacity. It was my initial introduction to the space and inspired me to continue to go for the Global Social Entrepreneurship minor, go to South Africa, and take Professor Shaughnessy’s course on social responsibility in the business sector. If you don’t have the space in your degree audit for either of these classes, read The Divide by Matt Taibbi and Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus.
Bonus Fun Fact: Jackie once met Dave Matthews at a Beyonce concert.
