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One of the perks with Conscious Magazine is getting to share our story with students in hopes of inspiring them to pursue a career with social impact. This is just a step towards fulfilling our mission of building up the next generation of storytellers who make a difference. Why is this important to us?  We want to see media move from sensational headlines and celebrity gossip columns to more intentional, more thoughtful stories that matter. At Conscious, we think about who will be our next generation of writers and whether they will aim for buzzworthy columns or for stories that educate readers about local and global concerns.

This week, Sarah (Director of Collaborations) and I had the opportunity to speak to a group of students from Colgate University during their trip to New York City. We hosted the group at the Center for Social Innovation. We had the opportunity to connect with eight students from Colgate University who are in their first to third year and from different parts of the world including the Czech Republic, China, Ohio, NJ, NY, and more. Currently, they are studying Economics, Marketing, Finance, and more. The reason for Colgate University’s student trip was to explore the growing trend of social innovation in a variety of real world settings. Their focus was to learn about how for-profit enterprises can take a socially responsible approach to their work toward the goal of social impact.

First, we inquired about their interests – everything from what they are reading to what their passions were. Some want to become investment bankers or become the General Secretary, others want to start a career in marketing, be a part of building a school with alternative education, or venture into entrepreneurship. Their other interests included how to make the most out of their time in college and how to begin building relationships after college. We talked about a range of different topics.

While we learned from their interests, questions were geared towards us regarding Conscious Magazine. We shared our vision to make a difference, and the how and why we use media as the platform to do so. We also talked about our goals of being in 1,000 stores by 2015 and growing our base of collaborative partners from photographers and writers. We talked about the growing trend of boutique magazines and the increase of interest in having print, feeling the paper, and displaying on one’s coffee table. We  shared how important it is to build relationships and not to be afraid to ask because people truly do want to help. We  encouraged them to journal as they come across situations because discovering who you are is part of the process to finding what your passion is in life. Lastly, we shared about the value of having a mentor.

Our day ended with new connections, a funny economics class story by me, and an unofficial tour of Centre for Social Innovation led by Sarah.

RELATED: Learn more about Center Social Innovation, which was inspired by NYC’s thriving community of nonprofits and social entrepreneurs.