Ilse Allende, a 10-year old girl with a life threatening illness, dreamt of going to New York City to see the fireworks on the Fourth of July. A group of students from the college made her dream a reality by raising money to grant her wish. Their efforts not only paid off for Ilse, but it won them top honors at the Cornerstone Social Entrepreneurship Competition. “Team Wishing Wand” had an original goal to raise $1,500, but ended up raising $6,243.37 by hosting a pool tournament, silent auction and a bowling party. Team members included: Shaun Doerrfield, Iris Mora, Oscar Ospina, Jessica Peters, Lukas Sanner, Cara Stagliano and John Zaloum. The team received $700 for winning first place from a field of six entries.

The competition is held at the end of each semester and is designed to give students enrolled in the Cornerstone Course a chance to showcase their achievements and gain experience giving professional presentations. Judges for the final competition were Stephen Goodman, William Callarman, Cameron Ford and Christopher Leo, all from the Department of Management.

The event was made possible due to the generous support of Jim Balaschak, ‘86 and ‘92, and his wife Debbie, ‘88. They wish to encourage students to learn the value of volunteering now and hope that the experiences that they have in the Cornerstone program will continue after graduation.