Beyond The Basics

Some student members of Enactus FRC with literature for the Uganda project.

How would you like to teach at a community college where 90% of the students are the first in their families to attend any type of college program and more than 80% need some sort of financial aid in order to attend? This is true of FEATHER RIVER COLLEGE, a community college located in northeastern California.

Located in rather a peaceful setting, surrounded by nature, this college also provides some unique academic programs for the benefit of its students. Among the areas available to students is instruction in social entrepreneurship. The school has a social entrepreneurship organization, ENACTUS FRC, which has engaged in such activities as providing a mentorship project with local foster youth, older adolescents who are aging out of the system. The mentors help to advise the youth they serve in preparation for independent living, since these youth don't often have the support of parents into young adulthood.



Another portion of Enactus FRC involves service to communities in Southwest Uganda, which lacks some of the basic infrastructure with which most of us are familiar. Providing water pipelines, business microloans for area businesses, and even seeds to be planted for marketable plant products are some of their services. The faculty adviser is Amelia Schulz, a grants and business instructor, one of the associate faculty at Feather River.

Amelia, or Amy, has been focused on education in entrepreneurship and workforce development. Through Enactus FRC, students can gain hands-on experience with real projects. She's a faculty member who has been at her current position for three years, and at Feather River for more than ten years. She is known for her innovative ideas and practices with which she engages with students who would otherwise not receive the educational opportunities present at mainstream colleges.

Ms. Schulz has certainly come to the right place with her forward-thinking philosophy. As she says, "I am a believer that the way to social change is through individual empowerment. This can be achieved by giving everyone a purpose, no matter what their backgrounds or challenges." Both as a faculty member and as an activity adviser, she puts her beliefs into practice.

Faculty member, Amy Schulz (center), with some of her students.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/amy-schulz-feather-river-college-quincy-ca/; and this profile on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyschulz1.

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