This past week, I was given the privilege to attend a 3-day long event known as the Enactus National Exposition.

Enactus is a social entrepreneurship organization on campus that seeks to solve world issues through entrepreneurship. According to the official Enactus page online, “Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform dedicated to creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators.”

The National Exposition is a chance for teams from schools all across the country to come together and share their projects and successes of the year.

As this was my first time attending Nationals, I was not sure what to expect. But Exposition did not disappoint. I was not only in awe of the projects that other schools had but also the impacts that these projects were able to achieve. And as I sat through more presentations, I was able to learn more about how our Rutgers Chapter could improve upon our projects and impacts in the community.

Another aspect I really enjoyed about the Exposition was the spirit of the Enactus community. One prominent memory from the event was when my friends and I were sitting outside at 2 a.m. and a fellow Enactus student from another team was passing by and stopped to say hello. We ended up talking for an hour about our teams, projects, and thoughts about the exposition in general. That conversation along with many others really showed me how collaborative and willing to help that the Enactus community is.

Enactus has a saying, “#WeAllWin” and this exposition showed me that Enactus teams all over the country really embody that saying. Although the National Exposition is a competition, the energy among the teams is anything but that. All the teams at the competition were there to help each other out to make an even greater, sustainable impacts.

Overall, my experience at my first Enactus National Exposition was enlightening and inspiring. I have come back with several new ideas to improve the chapter, the project I am a part of, and even myself.