Stanford Friend Ayden Hector on the Contribution of Business Majors to Society

Business Can Be a Force of Much Good, Says Ayden Hector With Stanford Ties

Because business plays an essential role in society, business majors significantly contribute to society, says Ayden Hector, a business administration major at WSU student who has family ties to Stanford.

Business Leaders Also Lead in the Community

Entrepreneurs and other business leaders also tend to be leaders in other aspects of society, says Hector. They join civic clubs, such as the Lions or Kiwanis, that seek to improve their communities or promote peace. They also tend to be leaders in their local Chambers of Commerce and on nonprofit boards, says Hector, who himself is president of B.Box, a student-run organization that provides birthday celebrations for homeless youth.

Business Majors Are Innovators

In competitive markets, businesses must innovate to survive. Innovation can involve new ways of working or processes, better access to or stewardship of raw materials, or new products. New products enrich the lives of people. New processes also can improve lives, especially if they are sustainable or save resources. These processes also can be adopted by nonprofits to meet the needs of more people efficiently. Business majors, of course, hold critical roles as innovators within businesses, says Hector.

Businesses Can Support Good or Sustainable Causes

Many CEOs believe that businesses exist to serve society. Social entrepreneurship is one way that companies, and by extension, business majors, do that. Social entrepreneurs explore business opportunities that positively impact the community, society, or world. One example is TOMS which gives one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased, says Hector. Another is Love Your Melon, which has donated 50 percent of its net profits to organizations that fight pediatric cancer, he says.

Business Majors Globalize the Economy

A key driver of globalization is economic development, says Ayden Hector, a Stanford friend who has citizenship in Luxembourg as well as the United States. Countries and their populations are driven to participate in the world economy. According to a study jointly prepared by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, the Conference Board, and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, that participation brings many of their citizens out of poverty.

“The global trade and economic development that businesses bring can have a significant effort on fighting global poverty. I am excited that as a business major, I will soon have a role in this process, says Ayden Hector, whose brother attends Stanford.

Ayden Hector is a student at Washington State University. He made the President’s Honor Roll in the spring of 2021.