NSU Student Lives and Learns Nonprofit Leadership with the Phoenix Project

Norfolk, Va.—Christopher Wright, an NSU business entrepreneurship major, spent his summer break in Petersburg, participating in the Phoenix Project’s 2008 Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program, which transforms committed undergraduate and graduate students into effective social entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and connections to succeed in Virginia’s nonprofit sector. Wright represented Norfolk State University in the class of thirty top students from fifteen different universities in the program.

“These students are the best of the best in Virginia—and they have the qualities we need in the next generation of leadership: intellect, imagination, entrepreneurialism, and courage to tackle tough challenges. We were excited to work with them this summer,” said David Carter, Director of Programs for the Phoenix Project. The first two weeks of the program engaged students in a curriculum focused on nonprofit leadership and social entrepreneurship led by forty-five leading scholars and practitioners. “Too often we see what problems exist but refuse to take the steps to change them,” said Wright. “After my experience this summer, I feel I have the skills and understanding to make a difference.”

For the final four weeks of the program, students worked in teams alongside community leaders in Petersburg on community-identified projects. They completed projects for more than two dozen local nonprofit and municipal organizations, including those aimed at economic development, reaching out to troubled youth, and neighborhood revitalization. “This program has allowed me to grow personally and professionally,” said Wright. “It has given me the direction, motivation, knowledge, skills and invaluable connections to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector.”

In addition to studying and working together, the students lived at Virginia State University, a historically black college located in Petersburg. “Living, working and serving together makes us into a very tight-knit community,” explained Wright. “I met new friends from across Virginia.” This result is deliberate, according to Carter. “One of our chief goals is to create a network of future social entrepreneurs who will serve the Commonwealth.”

More information about the Program can be found at http://www.phoenixproject.org/socialentrepreneurship/nlp/ .

The Phoenix Project is a statewide nonprofit organization that educates and engages Virginia's next generation of social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders on the front lines of the battle to revitalize Virginia's economically and socially distressed communities. To learn more about the Phoenix Project please visit www.phoenixproject.org .