Kayleigh is a recent graduate from the Richard Ivey School of Business and studied 3 years of Psychology prior to beginning her HBA at Ivey. She completed HBA2 abroad, at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
Kayleigh became interested in sustainability after taking the Corporations and Society course in HBA2 and is interested in completing her masters in sustainability in the next 5 years and exploring a career in social enterprise/social entrepreneurship. Kayleigh has been traveling and exploring the world in search of an idea to start her own company. She recently completed a 6-week internship teaching entrepreneurship in Ghana with Youth Challenge International and a weeklong vision mission in Nepal.
Additional Information
Personal Definition of Sustainability
Sustainability is creating lasting impact through business that benefits the greater good of society. I believe that sustainability is a model that only works in a cooperative network composed of different parties with varied but complimentary skills working towards a common, mutually beneficial goal. To be sustainable means to create solutions to root social/economic problems and then use techniques and models that ensure the long-term viability of these solutions. I believe to do so, you need to build infrastructure and foundational systems to support a solution, which is why there is more dependability and cooperation in a sustainable business model. Thus I believe in a sustainable business community, relationships, networks and human capital are more important than technology, machines and profit.
Sustainability-in-Action
Kayleigh recently completed a 6-week internship in Ghana, West Africa through a non-profit organization (Youth Challenge International) and the Ivey Sustainability Club. The purpose of the project was to help local entrepreneurs growth skills in order for them to develop their businesses and contribute to the overall economic growth of Ghana's small business sector. The project was a pilot program Kayleigh and 2 other Ivey students developed and facilitated workshops and a micro-enterprise conference. The program was a huge success and Kayleigh created an online network committed to entrepreneurial growth and local business support for all the conference attendees and entrepreneurs in order to ensure sustainability (www.communityleadersforum.com).
Recently, Kayleigh accompanied Dr. Jody Toyonaga on an optometry vision mission in Kathmandu, Nepal at a local orphanage. Kayleigh did eye screening for over 200 individuals and assisted with teaching the local doctors at the orphanage how to conduct eye exams so they could be equipped with the skill. Kayleigh is now teaching English and business in Thailand and believes teaching is a great way to educate and empower youth: knowledge sharing is sustainable!
