Spring 2020

‘True Success Is Giving Back’

Listen

Lecturer Len Green doesn’t define success by the amount of money one has. Success to him is measured by how you can improve the world around you, often through giving back.

In his popular course The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Challenge—along with Rebuilding from Disaster, led by Lecturer Chuck Winrich—students learn the significance of philanthropy and what it means to be a humanitarian.

Lessons for Life

Each week in Green’s course, a team of students is asked to bring food and beverages to feed the remaining 50 to 100 students in class with one condition: The team isn’t allowed to pay for it. To acquire meals, teams rely on negotiation. They also advertise, or perform other marketing-related work for restaurants in return for meals.

A group of students, led last semester by Mircea Ghita, decided to employ a similar tactic to feed others. With approval from Green, Ghita—an exchange student from Romania who attended Babson last fall—designed a project to use leftover meals from their dining plans to feed the homeless in Boston’s Copley Square neighborhood. Seven students ended up contributing more than 110 meals.

“Making money gives you opportunity, but that’s not true success,” Green said. “True success is giving back.”

Green said the donation of meals provided homeless men and women with a sense of optimism.

“When you reach that stage, you’re suspicious, you’ve lost hope,” Green said. “It’s important for these nonprofits to come across with hope, besides just food.”

Real Solutions

Winrich has been teaching courses on natural disasters for 20 years, and he initiated class trips to New Orleans in 2017 and 2018 to study lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina as part of his course Rebuilding from Disaster.

During the weeklong trips, students studied the city’s levy system, spoke to residents who lived through the hurricane, and also spent time in nearby Thibodaux, Louisiana, where they helped rebuild homes for those originally displaced by the hurricane. “In the vein of experiential learning, you go out and work on real problems with real people,” Winrich said. “You see the impact of your work.”

Winrich aspires to lead similar future work in Puerto Rico, struck by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and a round of earthquakes in December and January. “Even if it’s for a short period of time,” he said, “we want to help people and communities get back on their feet.”


READ MORE: In Service of Others: The Power of the Community Action Program »


Posted in Community

More from Babson Magazine »

Latest Stories

a row of electricity meters
The Price of Power: What’s Driving Rising Electricity Rates? Electricity rates have been steadily increasing. Ryan Davies, a Babson professor of finance, unpacks the many reasons for that, including the massive data centers popping up across the country.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
September 30, 2025

Posted in Insights

The Babson community and mascot celebrate at the Roger Babson statue last year
No. 2 Again: Wall Street Journal Ranks Babson the No. 2 Best College for the Second Year in a Row For the second year in a row, The Wall Street Journal ranked Babson as the No. 2 Best College in the United States, lauding the College for its impressive impact on student outcomes.
By
Eric Beato
Editor / Writer
Eric Beato
Eric Beato is the Editor of Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Eric has worked as an editor and writer at newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Boston Herald. Eric joined Babson College in 2019 after working as the communications director for a private educational travel company and as the managing editor of six regional sports publications.
September 29, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Insights, Outcomes

First row (left to right): Laura Bautista ’29, Ezel Bhatty ’29, Sydney Fojas ’29; Second row (left to right): Lucas Lebrija ’29, Tia Malhotra ’29, Remy Witt ’29
Class of 2029 Blank Leadership Scholars Bring Excitement to Campus The Class of 2029 Blank Leadership Scholars arrive at Babson equipped with entrepreneurial spirit and social impact experience, from launching nonprofits and tech solutions to championing environmental education.
By
Melissa Savignano
Writer
Melissa Savignano
Melissa Savignano, a content marketing manager at Babson College, has worked in higher education for almost a decade, where she tells authentic, compelling campus and community stories. Before Babson, she managed communications for Boston University’s largest college, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. She previously worked in client relations, helping brands of various sizes launch content marketing strategies and storytelling initiatives. When not at work, you will find her in the city of Boston, probably at the movie theater.
September 25, 2025

Posted in Community