As the ability of governments to fund social initiatives continues to erode, non-profit organizations have stepped in to provide much needed assistance around the world. Last year, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business expanded its Executive in Residence Program (EIRP) to allow undergraduate and graduate students to hone their business skills while also bringing expertise to the non-profit sector by undertaking realworld consulting projects. EIRP participants last year worked for several non-profits, including MOMMA’S House, a metro New York agency working with teenage mothers, and Covenant House, the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas providing shelter and other services to homeless, runaway and throwaway youth. “We are striving to be in unison with the University’s mission by making meaningful service and social justice an integral part of our everyday curriculum,” says Dean Steven Papamarcos. “It benefits students and gives non-profits access to excellent resources that can help them to help others more effectively.” “We were asked to design training programs to equip our clients to become more marketable. My team and I were inspired by Covenant House’s mission because we could relate it to St. John’s Catholic, Vincentian and Metropolitan mission. We decided to go above and beyond the requirements of our project by designing a comprehensive business plan for a subsidiary that would be responsible for providing not only training opportunities, but also job placement. Our proposed solutions were accepted with enthusiasm. “My EIRP experience put my education to the test. Not only am I equipped with job-critical skills, problem-solving abilities and leadership and teamwork expertise, but also I am ready and confident about entering the business arena.”Iskrena Popivanova Executive in Residence Program Class of 2008