From left: Ajit Pawar, Nicholas Bush, and Abbey Szarowicz (Photo Credit: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki)
by Claire Hackbush
This summer, the University at Buffalo’s Social Impact Fellows program selected the International Institute of Buffalo as one of just eleven regional non-profit organizations to host students so they could use their multidisciplinary backgrounds to address pressing social issues in the community.
For eight weeks, Nicholas Bush (College of Arts and Sciences), Ajit Pawar (School of Management), and Abigail Szarowicz (School of Social Work) collaborated and immersed themselves in the organizational culture and day-to-day operations at IIB.
With only a short time to achieve their goals, the students got to work immediately. They set up a satellite office on site while developing three specific proposals to help expand the IIB business model and maximize our ability to assist in our multi-tiered, robust refugee and immigration services.
During their time with us, the graduate students spent the first few weeks focusing on becoming well-versed in our typical operations by attending various events and meetings with each department. The team devoted later weeks to designing the three proposals; each focused on expanding our services, clientele, and revenue sources in unique ways.
Szarowicz said that their biggest challenges this summer centered on how much they could accomplish within their relatively short time limits, especially because the group had no limit in possibilities. Pawar fired off 23 different business ideas, an essential asset to the team’s proposal formulation.
“From there, it came down to picking which ideas you were most equipped to address along with what was most likely to come to fruition within the next five years,” Szarowicz said.
The students’ time at IIB paid dividends for them and for the important work IIB does across Western New York. Their proposal to improve and expand upon our mission to serve immigrants and refugees offered insights into what they gained from the program. Nicholas Bush explained his growth and understanding of IIB’s work connected to his International Politics studies.
“Once you accept refugees and immigrants into your community, they quickly become indispensable,” Bush said. “They become your neighbors.”
“We couldn’t be happier with the hard work and dedication of the students,” said Executive Director Jennifer Rizzo-Choi. “Their proposals will inform our strategic planning process and help set the trajectory for IIB’s future.”
Many thanks to Nicholas, Ajit, and Abigail, for their hard work and dedication not only to the Social Impact Fellowship program but also in embodying the International Institute of Buffalo’s mission to make Western New York a better place for, and because of, immigrants and refugees. We wish them luck in the future as they pursue their education and enter the workforce to promote a positive social impact in their respective communities.
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