Leaders of Today

In a country with leaders like Scott Sullivan (World Com), Jeff Skilling & Ken Lay (Enron), Barry Bonds (MLB), and Dick Cheney & George W. Bush, it makes me wonder; in what direction will the ethics of this country take in the next couple of years? Some would say in response to the list of leaders, that our future doesn’t look very bright - that today’s youth are learning from successful con artists. Others assert that it doesn’t matter anyway, because today’s youth are apathetic at best when it comes to political and social progress. This presents a problem when youth are supposed to become, and often addressed as, the leaders of tomorrow. But maybe society is focusing too much on youth as leaders of tomorrow instead of recognizing them as leaders of today (Pat Wu).

After spending the last two weeks reviewing 148 student applications for only 10 available non-profit consulting positions, I have been reassured that not all of today’s youth have become apathetic nor have their values been tarnished by the examples set by the aforementioned leaders. In fact, I have never been so inspired by my peers and the changes they aspire to make in both our immediate community as well as in the world. It says something when a non-profit consulting group is one of the most greatly demanded student groups on campus. Just like it says something when today’s youth are excited to dedicate 10-15 hours a week to pro-bono consulting for non-profit organizations.

The Berkeley Group (TBG) started in 2003, when five UC Berkeley juniors, after taking a business ethics course with Professor Alan Ross, wanted to do something more with the knowledge they were learning about business. They came up with an idea that would provide students an opportunity to gain business-consulting experience, while simultaneously giving them a chance to collaborate with non-profit organizations in order to help the community progress towards social change. TBG first began as a small group of students working on a single project. Over the past 4 years however, TBG has grown exponentially and has consulted for over 36 non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. Organizations such as The American Cancer Society, The National Sexuality Resource Center, Loco Bloco, The Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Inner City Advisors, and Women's Initiative for Self Employment.

The idea behind The Berkeley Group is that non-profit organizations “dynamically create a society in which individuals address the challenges of the environment, accept all members of society, and empower communities through education”. However, with such large visions, these individuals do not always have the time or knowledge to evaluate their organization and the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. Even if they do recognize a problem, there are few available resources to help determine how to solve these business-related issues. This is where The Berkeley Group comes in. As university students, we use our resources, knowledge, and passion, to work with individual non-profits to create solutions to the challenges they face. In short: The idea is, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.” TBG helps non-profits help the community.

While students could be participating in a number of different activities on campus, it is obvious to me by the sheer amount of interest in the group, that students have a great desire to make a long lasting, sustainable impact. In my opinion, these are the leaders and the examples that society should be looking to. I have a friend who often jokes that TBG actually stands for “The Beautiful Group”. While most people usually laugh when she says this, I have come to agree with her. The Berkeley Group is a group of students with visions and passions who are refusing to wait for tomorrow to come. Student who are instead, actively choosing to become the leaders of today – pretty beautiful if you ask me.

Email The Berkeley Group at theberkeleygroup@gmail.com or visit our website at tbg.berkeley.edu