On November 7th, four students flew from Waterloo down to Wichita Kansas to attend the annual Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) convention. Sponsored by Conrad Grebel and the local MEDA chapter, Jono Cullar, Sarah MacKeil, Drew Warkentin, and Eric Tichbourne were able to attend the 4 day convention and engage with the work being done by MEDA and their supporters, as well as compete in a case competition against teams from other Universities.
MEDA is an international development association whose goal is to facilitate economic growth by promoting and developing sustainable business solutions to poverty. Through establishing private investment, enhancing economic opportunities, and developing the private sector, MEDA hopes to make an impact on global poverty. Though MEDA first started out as a small group of service-oriented business people, it has now grown to be a large and dynamic international organization.
Jono Cullar, a 3rd year Environment and Business student, found the convention to be motivating and engaging, stating that “the convention was a great opportunity to meet people from all walks of life that have similar values and want to make the world a better place through business.” Not only were Jono, Sarah, Drew, and Eric able to meet other students from all over North America who have similar values and aspirations, they were also able to see the positive changes that MEDA is making around the world through innovative business solutions.
The convention sought to engage participants on critical issues related to MEDA’s mission, hosting a keynote speaker each night to talk about a different topic. Conversation was also promoted through the convention’s community atmosphere, utilizing the round dinner tables to facilitate discussion and networking between participants. The four Grebel students took full advantage of this opportunity to make new connections, vowing to separate during dinner time to meet new people and engage in different discussions.
The team of Grebel students also had the opportunity at the convention to participate in a Student Case Competition hosted by MEDA for university and college students. 6 teams analyzed the business practices of a real business in Newton, Kansas and came up with proposals of how to improve these practices. The proposals were then presented in a 30 minute pitch to one of the business owners and two MEDA staff, who picked the best proposal and awarded winners $100 each. The diverse team of Jono, an Environment and Business student; Sarah, an English Arts and Business student; Eric, an Economics student, and Drew, a Systems Design Engineering student, put much hard work and effort into the competition, meeting to work on their proposal for a month prior to the convention. Although Goshen College won the competition, the Grebel team recognizes that it was still a great opportunity to put the theories they have learned in class into practice through analyzing an actual business and inventing creative solutions.
If you are a student and are passionate about solving poverty through creative business solutions, stay tuned in the fall to hear about how you can be a part of the team to next year’s MEDA convention in Winnipeg! Take advantage of this annual opportunity to make connections, network, and engage with the issues that you care about.
