On October 19th, I went to the Nexus Conference and listened to the keynote speaker talk. At first when I was arrived, I realized that I was horribly underdressed. Wearing just a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, I stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of suits and dresses. I quickly found a spot toward the back of Locatelli and listened to Kristine Pearson, a social entrepreneur, talk about her life and her work. Originally, she grew up in America, but by 1989 she had moved to, and became a citizen of, South Africa. She grew up in a pretty unstable household, having attended thirteen separate elementary schools. This possibly helped her decide that she wanted to help people with her life. After she visited several African countries, she knew that she had to do something to help them. So Kristine and her husband set out on their goal to get technology to the poor who cannot afford it but need it. They developed a radio that young children could crank to power. It gave children, most notably in Rwanda, hope and education by linking them to public sources of information. Kristine explained that its main purpose was to improve the quality of life, not necessarily create a consumer market. I was also struck by some of Kristine’s advice. She said that you should find out what your values are, and stick to them. Go with your gut instinct when given a dilemma. She also mentioned that people should work for something they love doing, not for the fame. Kristine did exactly this, as she helped hundreds, if not thousands, of kids receive useful information.
I attended this conference as well, I thought her story was very interesting and riveting. What I took most from the conference was her advice about knowing your values before getting into to deep with a company. From the outside a company may seem one way when in actually it is completely different.
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