Most college students think it is nearly impossible to “save the world” and make money while doing it. Not true, said Josh Tetrick, who formerly worked for President Bill Clinton and President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Tetrick, a Cornell University graduate, also led a United Nations initiative in Kenya.
People have to understand the paradox that “selflessness is profitable,” Tetrick, 29, of Pennsylvania, said at the final School of International Service Week event, co-sponsored by the SIS Undergraduate Council and the 2011 Class Council.
“This is not a story about charity,” he said to an audience of eight, Oct. 23. “This is a story about how you can thrive. This is not necessarily about giving your life away.”
Tetrick currently runs TelosWorks, a business that “helps companies invest in clean energy ... in some of the poorest countries in the world,” he said.
He advised audience members individually on how to get opportunities that correspond with their respective passions.
Rebecca Kern, a freshman in the School of International Service, said she is interested in working with the World Trade Organization and the World Court System.
For her, Tetrick suggested she work with Integrated Framework, a company that “helps the least developed countries ... develop ... trade capacity.”
“A lot of the speakers are about just helping out,” Kern said.
However, Tetrick’s speech was about making money too, she said, calling it “the best of both worlds.”
Students can “be financially sound and make a difference at the same time,” Tetrick said.
For students in need of opportunities and internships, Tetrick suggested three Web sites: idealist.org, Good Magazine’s www.good.is and www.change.org. He also said students are free to e-mail him at joshtetrick@gmail.com.
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