All that glitters isn’t gold: Why working at a nonprofit might just be a really smart thing to do By Supriya Balsekar

Editor’s Note: We carry on with our “What to Expect” issue.  Today, Supriya Balsekar tells us what it’s like to work at an innovative youth development nonprofit…and how it’s the perfect preparation for business school.

I was very much on the Women in Business fast-track. I worked in finance for two summers during college, and my senior fall, I applied and was accepted to business school. In the months prior to my graduation from college, however, to everyone’s surprise and some people’s horror, I deferred business school for two years and signed up to work at a nonprofit in the Bronx. From my interactions during my summer internships in the finance industry, I found that so many young, ambitious souls, myself included, had been socialized into believing that an elite financial firm was simply the next checkbox beneath an Ivy League college. Instead, I called my MBA admissions office to confirm that I could really do anything I wanted before starting the program. When the lady said to me, “Yes, you can do pretty much anything except watch Oprah for two years,” I signed on the dotted line for a two-year contract with CitySquash. 

CitySquash is an after-school youth enrichment program that enables at-risk youth from the Bronx to fulfill their academic, athletic and personal potential. Our year-round, intensive programming combines squash, tutoring, mentoring, community service, travel, culture, nutrition, independent school placement, employment training and college prep. As an after-school program activity or “hook,” squash is uniquely effective. Historically played at prep schools and elite colleges, squash maintains close ties to strong educational institutions today. As such, the experience of playing squash exposes our students to higher education and a culture that greatly values academic achievement. Moreover, winning scholarships to prep schools and colleges with the help of squash is not a far-fetched goal for our students, as squash remains a relatively small sport in America. And the results are stunning - of the 40 students in CitySquash’s first four middle school classes, 23 have won scholarships to selective parochial, independent day and boarding high schools.  Collectively, these students will receive $2.3 million in financial aid awards over the course of their high school careers. 

I have been at CitySquash for three months now, working on management, development and strategic planning. I am truly happy and truly enjoy the work that I do, and I believe this opportunity will prepare me for business school and life in a way that most glamorous jobs would not hold a candle to. I was given multiple responsibilities including overseeing our land-acquisition project, planning and running the capital campaign to raise the funds to build that facility, and implementing and coordinating our transition to new and improved fundraising software, and redesigning our website from scratch. In addition to such projects, I was given the opportunity to coach squash and tutor our students. Spending time with the students is particularly valuable as it has given me a glimpse into their world, their values, their hopes and their fears. In many ways, the most important responsibility I was given all summer was serving as a role model to our students.

This experience has provided me with much professional growth and personal discovery. While my peers have found themselves stuck at the bottom of the totem pole, yearning to add value and flex their intellectual muscles, I have found myself playing a pivotal role in ushering the organization from childhood into maturity, and gained many of the hard-skills required to start and run a business. At one point during the summer, while evaluating the organization’s financial health and readiness for the new challenges posed by the economy, it really hit me – that I held a significant stake in the organization and that I, at 23-years of age, was actually going to affect our business practices and our students. I also quickly came to realize that our staff of eight twenty-somethings served as a beacon of light in the community. “CitySquash is a miracle in the middle of the Bronx,” one parent described on my first day, “Thank you for coming to us.” In that moment, I felt powerful beyond belief. I am confident that when I start at business school, I will bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and perspective to the table. For young people like myself, working at a social service organization might not only be a good thing to do, but a very smart thing to do.

Comments

[Ben]

I had a similar experience as a recent Ivy League grad struggling for writing jobs. I took a job writing for and about a development organization seeking to work in Africa. Unfortunately, the organization hasn't yet made enough progress to be noticed so I haven't reached many readers. Still, I had a major role in a small organization with a lot of my own input and freedom and did a lot of writing, as opposed to being a secretary at a magazine.