Experience. Empowerment. Enactus.

By Frank Amabile

FRANK AMABILE owes a lot to his grandmother. Originally from Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Amabile took a different path from his friends who were heading to Penn State’s University Park campus. Says Amabile, “My grandmother was from Altoona. Even though some of my best friends were going to UP, I didn’t want to; for some reason Altoona felt like a good decision for me. I don’t know, maybe my grandma ‘upstairs’ had something to do with it.” Amabile fully intended to head to UP’s Smeal College after two years at Altoona. Then, during his freshman year, he discovered ENACTUS. And everything changed.

The night was coming to an end as Frankie Valli’s “Oh, What a Night” echoed in the background. On Sunday evening, during the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association (GMA) Leadership Forum reception dinner, I realized that this song was the perfect last-track for the soundtrack of my weekend. That is, if weekends had soundtracks.

I attended the 2015 GMA Leadership Forum at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs as an honored guest along with some of the brightest minds in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. For those of you not familiar, CPG refers to any product that is used and replaced in a short period of time. This includes food and beverages, paper products, toiletries, beauty and personal care items. GMA provides a platform for CPG companies to come together to collaborate on challenges and solutions and discuss different trends, opportunities, and innovations shaping the landscape of the industry. The weekend was full of board, council and committee meetings along with interesting and impactful presentations and networking events. During one of these special presentations, Alex Perwich, President of Enactus USA, called me out from the stage as he mentioned Coke and Pepsi with their associated products. He went on to say that Enactus has an outstanding product, too: students like me.

During lunch on Saturday, I was honored by the Chairman of the Board, J.P. Bilbrey, President and CEO, The Hershey Company, for receiving the 2015 Enactus Emerging Leader Award. After the initial intimidation wore off from being the only student there, I graciously accepted my award on stage and gave a short thank-you speech. Everyone seemed interested in meeting me! I got to speak to so many incredible business leaders including Greg Smith, Global Lead Partner at KPMG, and former CEO of Walgreens, Greg Wasson. I even had the privilege of sitting next to Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever North America, who was recently named as Mr. Bilbrey’s successor as Chairman of the Enactus Worldwide Board. He gave me a piece of advice that I really tried to exercise for the rest of the conference. He simply said, “Be yourself.”

Part of this award provided me the opportunity to take an internship with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, where I spent seven weeks living, learning, and working in the nation’s capital. Living in a new city and working in a new industry with new people was an enriching experience. I fell in love with the city and the atmosphere. The people I worked with were very supportive of my success. I even had the opportunity to sit in on a congressional hearing revolving around Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and see firsthand how our judicial system operates. Working at a trade association, I was able to learn and get a unique perspective of the challenges the industry faces. On top of that, I was able to understand solutions, opportunities, and innovative approaches being taken to combat these issues.

Considering where I am currently in my life, I must say that I have been able to take advantage of a variety of opportunities that are not usually offered to your typical millennial student. This is a direct result of my attendance at Penn State Altoona and participation in Enactus. Given Penn State Altoona’s focus on student-centeredness and involvement in the community, I chose to complete my degree there. Through my involvement at Penn State Altoona Enactus, I was able to develop as a leader personally and professionally. Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell [referencing psychologist Herbert Marsh] summed it up best when he opined that it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond, than a small fish in a big pond.

For those of you that don’t know, Enactus is an international organization that brings together student, academic, and business leaders to focus on people, planet, and profit. Approximately 1,700 universities in thirty-six countries worldwide take part in social entrepreneurship projects that positively affect over one million people’s lives. Enactus offers a national scholarship called the Enactus Emerging Leader Award which enables individuals, such as myself, the chance to access Enactus senior staff, represent Enactus on a national scale, and participate in opportunities they may not have otherwise had. This national award recognizes a student who has demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in Enactus and who exhibits the potential to make contributions to the CPG industry. Through Enactus, I have been privileged to have traveled twice to Africa to work on social entrepreneurial projects and to a variety of cities within the United States for various conferences and competitions. I’ve also had the opportunity to network with business leaders from around the world through the likes of Partner Summits, National Competitions, and my GMA experience.

I am presently taking a semester off from academia to pursue a six-month consumer sales co-op with Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) in Chicago. This is another door that Enactus has opened for me. While giving a presentation regarding my work in Africa at the 2015 Enactus National Exposition in St. Louis, I met a job recruiter from JNJ. Usually JNJ only recruits Supply Chain Co-ops from Penn State; however I was fortunate enough to land a sales co-op. Internships are usually ten to twelve weeks long while a co-op is twenty-three to twenty-five weeks in length. This enables me to really learn the business, build new skill sets, and gain invaluable experience working for a Fortune 500 company.

Before attending college, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had little direction and no clearly-defined skillset. Although, I still may not know exactly what I want to do, Enactus has allowed me to be myself, by helping me identify my true passions in life and empowering me to recognize my own true potential. It has given me experiences that have resulted in a diverse set of skills that I believe will ensure my future success. Enactus has provided me with opportunities that are sure to play a transformational role for many years to come. As I move forward in my progression towards a successful career, I am confident that I will be able to see opportunity and take action in every problem I face in the business world and in life. That’s what I call enabling progress.