What would make a big difference in the life of a homeless person, beyond the obvious answer of a home and job?

“Surveys show that people in shelters want education programs,” said Jeff Ghitman, leader of a team of eleven International MBA (IMBA) students at Florida International University (FIU) that plans to increase the financial awareness of homeless people who spend time at the Chapman Center in downtown Miami, one of two sites run by Community Partnership for Homeless (CPH).

“We have created a curriculum focused on budgeting, banking and credit so that once people transition back into society they have the skills to manage their money better,” Ghitman speaking for teammates Deyanira Corrales, Conor Flynn, George Hancock, Andre Jaimot, Fabiola Marquez, Kellie Montoya, Danny Pena, Desiree Ruiz, Bekah Stevens and Andreina Zuccaro.

Front row, left to right: Rebekah Stevens, Deyanira Corrales, Andreina Zuccaro, Fabiola Marquez, Kelly Montoya and Desiree Ruiz. Back row, from left to right: Jeff Ghitman, Daniel Pena, Andre Jaimot, Connor Flynn and George Hancock

Students create a compelling curriculum, devise plan for sustainability.

The group worked closely with staff from CPH, including executives and case managers, to confirm the need. They benchmarked other programs in Florida. They explored sources for instructors. And, they presented a plan, including a curriculum, to stakeholders on October 28, 2009. The curriculum includes three programs designed to be interactive, to be delivered in hour-long sessions over four weeks—the average stay at CPH is 47 days—and to be engaging through the use of games.

Jeff Ghitman helps make the case for the financial literacy project planned for the Community Partnership for Homeless.

“Our mission is to provide the people in the Chapman Center with a sustainable framework for responsible financial decision making,” Ghitman said, “and after we graduate in 2010, we plan to sustain the program by passing the baton to other students.”

Deanne Butchey (PhD ’05), who has developed a required financial literacy service learning project in her undergraduate class within the College of Business Administration, has agreed to be the faculty advisor to this project. She has promised that either students from her Financial Markets and Institutions course or City Year will provide instructors.

Deanne Butchey, the project’s faculty advisor, and Dana Farrow, who teaches in the IMBA program, were among the attendees at the October 28, 2009 presentation.

Both the Chapman Center and the graduate school in which the IMBA students are enrolled are named for Alvah H. Chapman Jr., who founded CPH and was a major benefactor of the business school.

One goal the Business Alumni Chapter established for 2009-2010—to cultivate future Florida International University (FIU) business alumni leaders by enriching and enhancing the experiences of business students—is on the road to fulfillment.

Thanks to chapter sponsorship, eight business organization leaders participated in FIU’s Center for Leadership and Services’ Academy of Leaders (AOL) certificate program in October 2009. Angelena Adams, Delta Sigma Pi; Issa Chaves and Carolina Rivera, International Business Honor Society; Joni Deckert, Kelly Dobert and Andrew Plotnikow, American Marketing Association; Gabriel Oms, Alpha Kappa Psi and Yanyn San Luis, Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda learned basic principles of leadership such as “Modeling the Way,” “Challenging the Process” and “Enabling Others.”

From left to right: Andrew Plotnikow, Angelena Adams, Yanyn San Luis, Kelly Dobert, Joni Deckert, Issa Chaves, Carolina Rivera and Gabriel Oms enjoy the serenity of a riverside retreat during the Academy of Leaders training.

Among many activities, the teams were put through low ropes courses, learning and implementing the concept of “mind over matter.” Through team building exercises, and learning about their individual leadership styles, the program made the idea of “Leaders are not born . . . they are made” real.

Students and sponsors praise the program.

“The retreat exceeded my expectations,” Deckert said. “I made connections with others and discovered more about myself. It was a magical time and I will never forget it.”

Plotnikow agreed.

“The retreat joins the list of experiences that hit you on the head and, without any harm, gently guide you toward feeling everybody else’s thoughts and hearts,” he said. “We synchronized as a successful team after learning so much. In just a single weekend, we really listened and became efficient as a group.”

Michael Fenton, chapter president, was delighted with the results.

“An investment in students is an investment in alumni and the College of Business Administration,” he said. “Because students today will be the change makers of tomorrow, it’s important to help them on their path to leadership through cultivation and engagement activities like AOL.”

With its dual-screen monitors and advanced audio/visual systems, the Capital Markets Lab (CML) in the College of Business Administration at Florida International University (FIU) enables students to build the competencies they need to successfully compete in the financial field.

Recently, the lab took on a greater role when it played host to a group of high school students from Christopher Columbus High School who are eager to learn about financial markets. Over the course of several Wednesday evenings, the group received instruction from intern Owen Lee on topics including financing sources and instruments.

Owen Lee provides instruction about financial markets to students from Christopher Columbus High School.

“My approach was to start with the basics as they had little knowledge of how finance works,” Lee said.

CML Director Helen Simon, who developed the idea for the training, says it appears to be a “big hit” with the students.

Christopher Columbus student Kevin Casamayor agrees. He described the training as an “eye-opening experience” and an “incredible opportunity.”

Left to right: Rey Conejo and Franco Faranda

“My classmates and I have learned so much already about the global markets,” Casamayor said.

Events validate CML’s potential as a learning center.

The training marks the first time CML has offered instruction to high school students, Lee said. Its success, he says, may lead to similar undertakings in the future.

“We are already talking about the potential for having the students come back next semester,” he said. “It definitely opens up ideas about other ways in which we might use the lab.”

Lee, who will graduate in December with a degree in finance, laments that he won’t be around to see what becomes of the training. However, he expresses gratitude for the chance to help launch a potentially pioneering effort within CML.

It has been really great working with the students,” he said. “They are very motivated to learn and I am proud to be their teacher.”

Front row, left to right: Franco Faranda, Rey Conejo, Owen Lee and Patrick Williams. Back row, left to right: Brandon Fernandez, Nick Sowers, Kevin Gregory and Chris Guzman

Left to right: Chris Guzman and Kevin Gregory

Left to right: Kevin Gregory and Patrick Williams

Left to right: Nick Sowers and Brandon Fernandez

Currently enrolled in the joint International MBA and Master of Science in Finance degree program, ardent runner Heather Thurston prefers the fast track in all aspects of her life.

“My whole family runs both marathons and shorter races in and around South Florida,” she said. “Even when we’re all running at a different pace . . . it’s how we stay connected.”

Heather Thurston

Thurston explains that running takes her to another level mentally.

“When I run, I feel like I’m flying,” she said. “My belief in myself is fueled by my running. I get so much satisfaction from working hard to reach my goals.”

The same can be said of Thurston’s other pursuits, both inside and outside the classroom. When not hitting the books or the pavement, she can be found scuba diving with sharks or using her culinary skills as a former executive chef to prepare delicious meals for her family.

Academically speaking, Thurston arrived at Florida International University (FIU) with a Bachelor of Science degree in international economics earned at the University of Florida.

She chose the College of Business Administration’s joint degree option because she felt the “curriculum was rich enough to allow delving into different courses and career paths.”

Thurston applies same drive to her career pursuits.

“Right now, I’m focused on my job search,” Thurston said. “I’ve spent many hours researching companies to prepare myself for job interviews.”

Her commitment paid off when she attended the recent National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“With guidance from Career Management Services—and unrelenting support from Barry Shiflett, director and Elsie Florido, associate director, I was able to meet with a number of potential employers,” she said. “I interviewed for a financial analyst position with The Walt Disney Company and IBM.”

Clearly, with such discipline and determination at work, her career will soon be off and running.

Q&A with William Hardin, Florida International University

William Hardin is professor of finance and real estate and director of real estate programs at Florida International University, and a member of the board of directors of the American Real Estate Society. He has authored or co-authored some 40 papers on varied topics in commercial real estate investment, including REIT governance and financial structure.

William Hardin

Portfolio: In one of your most recent papers you found that REIT-owned apartment properties generated higher effective rents than otherwise similar properties owned by non-REITs, at least in the Atlanta area. What accounts for the superior operating performance by REITs?

Hardin: There are several potential advantages including local market knowledge gained from ownership of multiple properties, longer-term property and portfolio strategies and the ability to attract and maintain competent management. Most REITs have direct, real-time property knowledge that they generate through their direct participation in the space market. REITs and other larger operators get this information more quickly than most other market participants.

…

Read: “Q&A with William Hardin, Florida International University,“ an article from Real Estate Portfolio Magazine.

Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, globalization and technology-related risk place information system auditors (IT auditors) in high demand. Graduate students of the Master of Accounting program at Florida International University (FIU) are getting an opportunity to receive hands-on experience using a simulated client within the banking industry to strengthen their skill sets. They also are getting a leg up on others who are interested in IT auditing or other related career paths.

“For my graduate-level class, I wanted to simulate an actual IT audit process to expose and equip students with a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to become successful auditors,” said Antoinette Lynch, who teaches IT audit courses in FIU’s School of Accounting in the College of Business Administration.

Antoinette Lynch

To accomplish this, Lynch teamed with Silka M. Gonzalez (MACC ’05), president and founder, Enterprise Risk Management, to design an IT audit case study that took the students through the standard process phases——from meeting the client and preparing an engagement letter to conducting a risk assessment, developing the audit program and issuing a report to management with findings, risk and recommendations.

From left to right: Maria Zarate, Silka Maria Gonzalez and Tomas Birriel

“We focused on general control risk areas that students would most likely encounter as a user of the system, IT auditor or financial auditor—Microsoft Windows 2003, IBM AS/400, networking components, firewalls, routers and other IT control areas,” Lynch said.

In addition to preparing the materials and delivering the lecturers, Gonzalez and three colleagues from her firm provided ongoing guidance to the students.

Case study proves relevant to a variety of accounting roles.

“At some point, these students will be exposed to IT audits and controls,” Gonzalez said. “Whether they work as auditors, controllers, CFOs, CEOs, consultants or business owners, they will be able to use the basic concepts provided by this class throughout their careers.”

From left to right: Rosmary Mascio, Jessica Le (standing), Annette Jernigan (standing), Monica Hablich, Karina Falcon (standing), Flavia Hakkers, Abdulaziz Aljasem (standing), Antoinette Lynch and Hector Aponte

This certainly proved true for Annette Jernigan (MACC ’09, BBA ’07), director of property administration, Baptist Health Enterprises, who immediately applied what she learned.

“Before I took this course, IT auditing was intimidating,” she said. “That’s no longer the case. I now have a much deeper understanding of what the IT department needs from me on a day-to-day basis—and the relationship of IT governance to Sarbanes-Oxley and other compliance and security requirements.”

From left to right: Ivette Rivadeneira, Leandro Gonzalez, Valeria Alaniz (standing), Eric Horstmann, Marcos Garrido and Ronny Gonzalez

From left to right: Valeria Alaniz and Ivette Rivadeneira

From left to right: Maria Gonzalez (standing), Michael Cohn (standing), Georgios Mortakis, Keiron Quarrie, Yazmin Martin and Gabriela Manrique

From graduate programs to walk-in advice and quick bootcamps, South Florida colleges offer training to those who want to start their own business.

Florida International University, one of eight Kauffman Foundation centers around the country, has been emphasizing entrepreneurship since 2004, when the university received a $3 million grant from the foundation to create programs and courses. While undergraduate and graduate business students have an entrepreneurship track, courses also are sprinkled throughout the university in the areas of religion, law, chemistry and other fields of study.

Irma Becerra-Fernandez, director of the Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center at FIU, teaches an entrepreneurial course on information technology. She focuses on social networking and Web-based businesses, and builds her curriculum around the concept of having fun. Modeling her class after the TV show Shark Tank, Becerra-Fernandez holds a mini-competition for students to present their best business ideas. She brings in prominent business leaders as judges. One year, the winning team developed a MySpace widget and won a video camera from MySpace Latina.

Read: “Schools offer new entrepreneurial classes,“ an article from the MiamiHerald.com.

Rose is a merchant from Benin City, Nigeria who needed a small loan to expand her inventory by adding pepper soup and tomatoes. Like the majority of women micro-entrepreneurs, Rose is a responsible businesswoman who repaid her loan in full. She is also a poverty fighter. Her business expansion earned additional profits that she used to improve her life and the lives of her eight children in a country where chronic food insecurity is problematic and malnutrition among children is high. Our micro-finance initiative played a role in Rose’s success by facilitating the micro-loan. Rose’s next venture is to purchase a new grinding machine for her shop.

Our microfinance initiative was founded in the summer of 2007 as a global outreach project at Florida International University (FIU). We met during a class on Corporate Social Responsibility and shared a common interest in building grass roots initiatives to reduce poverty. It wasn’t long into our first brainstorming session before Frank McGuinness, an MBA student and IT strategist, introduced us to an article that he had read in Computer World Magazine on microfinance. We were intrigued by the concept and agreed that creating a microfinance initiative at the university would be a great learning experience. To date we have been successful in granting small loans to impoverished micro-entrepreneurs in Asia, Africa, and South America, with a working plan to offer micro-loans and microfinance services in poor neighborhoods within Dade County, Florida.

Our goal was to develop a program that would utilize the strengths, skills, and experiences of our group members, while relying on university resources and faculty expertise to convert fundraising proceeds into working loans for impoverished micro-entrepreneurs. Simultaneously, we wanted to share our business acumen with micro-entrepreneurs in an effort to help them reach sustainability.

Within a few months we established a Florida not-for-profit corporation and a formal student organization: FIU Micro Lenders. It was rewarding to see ideas come to fruition with the help of so many enthusiastic volunteers willing to share both their time and expertise. At the helm was our academic advisor Dr. Robert Hogner, a professor with expertise in civic engagement and community service-based learning. We also relied upon the guidance of Moriah Meyskens, an instructor and PhD student who contributed experience gained from launching a similar initiative at New York University.

We quickly learned that we needed a broad spectrum of skills to grant micro-loans – skills that were provided by a group of dedicated students with backgrounds in finance, accounting, IT, and marketing. Beyond functional expertise, these students also contributed entrepreneurial spirit and a passion to combat poverty. Also, we needed access to an internet based micro-lending website to administer our social lending. And, we needed money.

We secured corporate sponsorship and raised additional funds through the sale of donated textbooks via Amazon Marketplace and donated items on eBay. We engaged Kiva.org to provide two types of peer-to-peer lending accounts: renewable loans as tax-deductible contributions from donors, and traditional non-renewable micro-loans. The process became increasingly efficient as synergies resulted from volunteer students combining their interests and skills.

In a few short months, FIU Micro Lenders had provided two-dozen micro-entrepreneurs with small loans to help improve and grow their businesses. We progressed beyond our organizational infancy stage into a smooth running sustainable operation. And the founding members had acquired not only an understanding of the function of micro-lending, but a true dedication to the cause.

The first tranche of loans facilitated through Kiva were Africa-focused and issued primarily to female food vendors and retail merchants in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. One micro-entrepreneur who caught my attention was Uwa, a Nigerian woman who wanted to expand her business of selling soft drinks from a refrigerator in her yard into a small market, which she eventually accomplished. I learned through Uwa that even the simplest of business models, when managed effectively, could be relied upon to support an entire family. For such micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries, the success or failure of reaching profitability is the difference between a child going to bed hungry or not. Janet, also from Nigeria, has borrowed and repaid in full $550 in micro-loans to expand her existing soft-drink retail business by purchasing additional inventory. Florence, a vegetable merchant from Uganda, had been in business for 18 years and needed only $350 to purchase an additional plot of land in order to expand her business by improving her stock of vegetables.

During a visit to Argentina in the winter of 2001 I was intrigued when my wife, a native of Buenos Aires, pointed out the slums and shantytowns of the capital city locally called “Villas Miserias” (neighborhoods of misery). Since then I had been interested in participating in a project that would improve the lives of Argentines living in poverty. Despite the economic crash in 2001, I thought of Argentina as a wealthy country. It is because of this general perception that Argentina suffers in efforts to obtain international funding for poverty alleviation projects. It is difficult to gauge real poverty in Argentina since INDEC, the national statistics agency, typically underreports true poverty figures. Local think tanks estimate between 30 to 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Hundreds of thousands of urban slum dwellers reside in poorly constructed shacks in the Villas Miserias. Suffering the most are Argentina’s northern, rural agricultural provinces such as Tucumán, Salta, and Jujuy, which face extremely high levels of poverty and where malnutrition among children is most common.

Bob Hannan, an economic development consultant who had established a micro-seed fund for HelpArgentina, an NGO based in Buenos Aires, presented FIU Microlenders with the opportunity to deliver the second tranche of loans in Argentina’s northwest province of Tucumán. We partnered with HelpArgentina because of their use of best practices and a rigorous accreditation and monitoring of micro-loan portfolios. Having seen firsthand the siphoning of charitable contributions by corrupt Argentine officials, my wife strongly recommended facilitating any social investments through a reputable NGO such as HelpArgentina, which would directly oversee micro-credit disbursements. Within a few months we obtained financing, primarily from a small group of social investors whose contributions helped to successfully create and grow such micro-enterprises as bakeries, taxi services, beauty salons, and food vendors.

Since the launch of FIU Micro Lenders, additional students have volunteered with the organization each semester and their contributions have continued to improve its operations and effectiveness. The initiative has progressed rapidly, and while our original vision focused on providing micro-loans internationally, several local banks have expressed an interest in forming a partnership with our organization to offer guidance and microfinance services to low income residents closer to home in Miami Dade County.

Our results show that while microfinance is not a cure-all, it is an effective tool available in the battle against poverty. After completion of my MBA later this year, I am interested in conducting research on poverty alleviation, with a particular focus on serving the needs of the 1.1 billion people trapped at the bottom of the economic pyramid in extreme poverty.

We invite all FIU students to become part of a global organization that changes lives. We are also keen to share our model and learning experiences with students from other universities interested in similar endeavors. Through continued collaboration and partnerships with microfinance organizations, banking institutions, social investors, NGOs, academics, and business students, we will continue to grow and improve the microfinance initiative at FIU, learning along the way while making continued contributions toward poverty alleviation.

Terry Tasker is a MBA candidate at the Chapman Graduate School of Business, Florida International University (’09). He is a financial professional in the recycled paperboard converting industry and is co-founder of FIU Micro Lenders. You can visit http://microlenders.business.fiu.edu for more information.

This article originally appeared in The Microfinance Insider, a new microfinance journal launched at New York University.

When Jessica Valente (BBA ’09) and Carolina Nieto became Florida International University’s (FIU) first graduate students to win the Espirito Santo Bank Scholarship, they were not the only ones to benefit, though benefit they did. Each received $15,000 toward their tuition in FIU’s International MBA (IMBA), a one-year, full-time program. As part of the award they will have an internship at the bank and the possibility of future employment.

“I planned to take a couple years off and work,” said Valente, who majored in finance and hopes to be a CEO or start her own company. “However, in the current economy, I realized it was a good time to continue my education, but I would not be in graduate school if it weren’t for the scholarship.”

For Nieto, securing the scholarship enabled her to be part of the “American university system, which I love. I am concentrating on emerging markets with a particular interest in Latin America, which made Miami a natural choice for me.”

From left to right: Jose de la Torre; Carlos M. Modio (BBA ’82), the bank's senior vice president and COO, and member of the Dean’s Council; Jessica Valente; Carolina Nieto; Joyce Elam, executive dean, College of Business Administration; Mark North, president and CEO of Espirito Santo Bank; Victor Balestra; and Paola Moreno (MBA ’03) associate director, International Graduate Programs, at a luncheon at the bank on October 16, 2009

Scholarship signifies dedication to excellence from two institutions.

As understandably pleased as the two recipients are, members of the bank and Jose de la Torre—who as dean of the Chapman Graduate School in the College of Business Administration began the talks with the bank that resulted in the scholarship—are equally delighted.

“I am a firm believer in public universities and think that FIU does an outstanding job in educating our future generation of leaders,” said Victor Balestra, the bank’s chairman. “We felt that a scholarship would give us the opportunity to meet the students selected, and perhaps assist them in starting their professional career once they graduate.”

According to de la Torre, “The college matches scholarship donations dollar for dollar—a sign of our commitment to attracting high-quality graduate students. It pleases us that Espirito Santo Bank will have the opportunity to see the scholarship recipients as potential employees, and that the students will have both an excellent degree and impressive work experience for their résumés.”

Ana Maria Silva and Maria Lau, both undergraduate students in international business and marketing in the College of Business Administration, experienced working for the government away from home thanks to a summer internship program offered by the Hispanic National Internship Program of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). Although the two worked for different agencies in different states, the end result was the same: relevant hands-on experience, great networking opportunities and eye-opening perspectives.

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Miquel Lugo, another HNIP who interned in Washington, DC, was featured in an earlier article in BizNews.