No Pain, No “Grain”
by: Hannah Magdangal and Nico Belasco, Thames Undergraduate Students
Responding to the plight of Filipino farmers, Yana de Villa, a third year graduating student at Thames International majoring in Marketing Management, co-founded Lively Grains in 2019 and has since been working to change lives for the better. A responsible student-leader-entrepreneur, she joined the 2020 Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards (GSEA) by the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Philippines last November 25, and represented her growing social enterprise, Lively Grains, as one of the Top 6 student-entrepreneurs who were in the running to represent the country in the international GSEA with participants from 37 different countries all over the globe.
The EO GSEA is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business. Aiming to contribute to the greater entrepreneurial ecosystem and make a difference in the lives of student-entrepreneurs, the GSEA envisions a world where they become the world’s most influential change-makers. Their objective is to empower student-entrepreneurs and have an impact on entrepreneurship worldwide. Through providing them support by way of mentorship, recognition, and growing their network so that they may take their business to the next level, the mission of the GSEA is to give these student-entrepreneurs the opportunity to accelerate their success, change the status quo, and connect to an instrumental peer group to make the greatest impact possible in their own communities.
“Our advocacy is to help uplift the lives of our farmers,” says Yana, discussing her frustration over the difficulties experienced by the very individuals whose labor provides for the majority of what we consume on the daily.
Yana’s pitch left a lasting impact on judges and viewers alike, as she shed light on problems many people in agriculture face and offered feasible solutions. Her passion shone through as she presented facts and figures that supported her purpose-driven business. Though she did not take home the major title, she walked away with supporters and believers in Lively Grains, who saw the potential in her venture.
“It was nerve-wracking and of course I wanted to represent the school the best way I can. I think having ambition is what got me through the whole process, and feeling the support of the entire Thames community helped keep me going,” she said when asked about her experience.
Age need not be an issue when starting a business, as JP Tuason, founder of Tuason Racing School, said when he hosted the GSEA competition. Yana is living proof and knows it: “My school, Thames International, has taught us that students can be entrepreneurs while still in college.
With the guidance of industry professionals and experts, Thames continuously molds student-entrepreneurs, staying true to their mission in bringing a new order of business owners who are hungry for social change and wish to make a positive impact on the world around them. Check out these future-proof programs to know more.
