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Leeds MBA and Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) student Hannah Ishida is making the most of her time here at Leeds through her campus involvement and Leeds courses. She is the president of the graduate Women in Business club, previously assisted in orchestrating the Net Impact Case Competition (NICC), Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) team member, and recently received the Rebecca Adamson Indigenous Rights & Business Scholarship. 

“Unique attributes such as CESR and the overall focus on social, environmental and economic impact are the primary reason I chose Leeds,” Ishida says. “Who knows if I could’ve been this involved in a different program?”

CCSR Program

The CCSR program was created for professionals seeking to further themselves and their companies in the practice of socially responsible business. Ishida enrolled in the course concurrently with her MBA to maximize the worth of her education at Leeds. The diversity and inclusion (D&I) and employee engagement modules were of highest interest to Ishida who believes that “if employees are encouraged, engaged and treated fairly, then there's no telling how much they can accomplish. Putting resources and innovating thinking into these areas generates powerful change for an organization and the surrounding community.”

Ishida also found value in the broad scope of the course; they considered a stakeholder approach when evaluating various companies and identified how to generate value while considering economic, environmental and social aspects of business. She also appreciated the network of professionals she was exposed to and the fact that “...everyone was willing to learn from one another and passionate about making a change in their own organizations.” This executive education course has provided Ishida with the ability to implement techniques taught in the curriculum to drive positive change in the business world. 

MBA Program 

“My MBA experience is empowering because I wanted not only to jumpstart my career, but approach some topics that were really unfamiliar and intimidating to me before,” says Ishida. As she began her MBA, she was excited to learn from both her professors and classmates, and to learn more about the changing world of business. The network she has developed while attending Leeds has been critical to her education, and she hopes to remain actively involved in the Leeds network post-graduation as she begins her career at in an Organizational Change Management role. 

“As a student, I’ve been able to reach out to the professional network with ease,” says Ishida. “The community as a whole is really receptive to Leeds students, and they are eager to help in any way they can. It’s a great way to learn outside of the classroom.” 

Involvement

Outside of classes, Hannah Ishida is an actively involved Leeds student. As president of the Women in Business club, Ishida aims to build up the community of women-supporting-women and male allies. Her mission is to “...better understand where everyone is coming from and how to support each other in the future by opening up lines of communication and bringing in community members.” After she leaves CU, she hopes to remain a strong connector in her community to foster this communication. Ishida also helped to lead the last year. She was motivated by the focus on social, environmental and economic issues in business and the complexity of business cases. 

“Given the uncertainty of global business, it is important to be prepared and comfortable talking about business through different lenses,” Ishida says. “This competition brings together a group of graduates that have a passion for business as a force for good and brings into light the complexity of the situations we might face in the future. My goal was to make it memorable and a good learning experience for everyone.”

There are countless ways to get involved at Leeds and maximize the value of your academic experience as Ishida has done. If you’re passionate about the impact space, visit our website to learn about opportunities such as degrees and certificates, networking nights, case competitions and student organizations.