Our Story

The Ambassador Corps International Internship program was pioneered by the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, to provide unique hands-on experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students with pre-eminent social entrepreneurship organizations in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.   During its five year history, 55 student interns were dispatched to 24 countries worldwide for intensive three-month summer internships.

The program focus for the interns included a diverse portfolio of sector specialties: microfinance, sustainable agriculture, sports & development, social justice, environmental conservation, sustainable education, eco-tourism, youth entrepreneurship, disaster relief/development, public health and disease eradication, women’s income generation projects, community-based engineering projects, and business planning for social enterprises and NGOs.

Returning “Ambassadors” described this crash Peace Corps experience as “life changing” and “transformative,” and often times convincingly influencing a future global career path (some being retained as full time paid employees of the host organization they were assigned to).

CSIL, CSE and  C.V. STARR Schools Abroad Collaboration

CSIL is part of the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboration Committee with the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Schools Abroad to demonstrate how these three institutions can work together to manage joint programs. Ambassador Corps is the premier pilot program seen as a tripartite collaborative opportunity between CSIL, CSE, and CV-Starr Schools Abroad. These three entities are continually developing productive and lasting professional relationships with a growing network of social entrepreneurs, impact investors and other values-driven professionals that will serve as Ambassador Corps host organizations to create a unified network across geographical barriers. The collaborative learning model offered by CSE, Schools Abroad and CSIL through the Ambassador Corps program sets the stage for social entrepreneurship as the platform that demonstrates the complementarity of academic and experiential learning.

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