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Besides enjoying one of the highest job placement rates (96%) at the Leeds School of Business last May, students pursuing the Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR)’s Social Responsibility and Ethics (SRE) Certificate now have even more incentive to add it to their resume: a generous scholarship opportunity!

This past spring marked the first time students actively pursuing the SRE Certificate could apply for the – an exclusive scholarship that awards $5,000 a year to a few lucky SRE students.

The first awards have gone to three remarkable students.

“Whenever someone believes in me enough to fund my education, I know that what I am doing serves a purpose bigger than myself. I am truly honored to be one of the first recipients of the Marc Prisant and Heidi Heltzel Scholarship, and I hope I can make them proud with my future accomplishments,” says scholarship recipient Jordyn Johnson.

With big plans for her career after she graduates May 2016, Johnson, a triple-emphasis management major focusing on leadership, talent management and operations management, hopes to work for the National Football League (NFL) in their Community Relations department and start a non-profit aimed at youth empowerment and development through education and sports.

“With a focus on positive social impact and business ethics, the SRE Certificate aligns with my personal interests in non-profit work and community relations within the sports industry,” says Johnson. “I decided to pursue the certificate because it brings purpose to the world of business in combination with a focus on profitability.”

Johnson acknowledges that her pursuit of the SRE Certificate has helped her become more aware of the world around her. “I have had the chance to complete the experiential learning portion of the certificate by teaching English in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. The opportunity to reflect on such an experience through the mind of a socially responsible business student has broadened my perspective on business’s place within society.”

Jamie Green, another scholarship recipient, admitted that the scholarship provides much-needed support, allowing “students like us to stress a little less about money while getting a values-driven education.” While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Spanish for the profession and a master’s in accounting, Green decided to obtain the SRE Certificate mainly, she says, “because CESR professors, administrators and past students all spoke so highly of a CESR education.” In addition to working as a student assistant at CESR and as a teaching assistant for the popular Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage course, Green has been influenced by such CESR courses as Corporate Boards in Action and Integrated Reporting for Socially Responsible Strategies.

She says, “My work and classes through CESR have helped shape the last four years at Leeds. Not only have I met amazing, impactful people, but I am also able to look at any potential employer in a holistic view to make sure their values and culture align with my own.”

Shane Hoftyzer, a scholarship recipient majoring in business administration with an emphasis in information management, originally chose to pursue the SRE Certificate because “this is the start of the era of big data, and as of now, it is largely unregulated. With great power comes great responsibility, so I decided that I needed an education that was geared towards dealing with the gray areas I expect to encounter in my career.”

Hoftyzer says case studies and socially-conscious projects in his CESR classes have helped him become an analytical thinker who thinks about moral consequences before making important decisions. The CESR class Leadership Challenges really made an impression on him: “It has had a profound impact on the way I approach situations at work and in my private life. Working with real ethical challenges faced by past CEOs gave me real world knowledge that has been immediately relevant to my life.”

His career aspirations include connecting work to a cause that is greater than himself. “I want a career that enables me to be an instrument for meaningful change.”

About the SRE Scholarship
Marc and Heidi have been guided in their lives and careers by social responsibility and ethics. While neither attended CU, they learned about the work being done at the Leeds School of Business and appreciated the focus and direction that the business school and, in particular, the CESR program were taking. Marc and Heidi’s strong beliefs in social responsibility and ethics drew them to establishing this annual scholarship at the Leeds School, which they hope will attract future generations of students to the business school and CESR. Learn more .

About the SRE Certificate
The helps business students distinguish themselves in the field of socially responsible business, whether their unique interests lie in environmental sustainability, social entrepreneurship, corporate ethics or values-driven leadership. Students who complete the certificate develop the practical knowledge and marketable experiences that will distinguish them as business professionals who strive to make a positive social impact.

Since its introduction in 2010, 87 students have graduated with the Certificate. In 2015, SRE Certificate graduates achieved a record 96% job placement rate, one of the highest at the Leeds School. SRE graduates indicated overwhelmingly that their CESR education helped them to identify an employer whose culture matched their own values, and a full 1/3 of our graduates directly credited their SRE Certificate with playing a critical role in securing their job offer.

Declare your interest in pursuing the SRE Certificate .