CSR AND MENTOR EXPERIENCE

Patriann Monteith
International College of the Cayman Islands

GR 509
Reflection Paper Corporate Social Responsibility and Mentor Experience
Lecturer: Dr. David Marshall
22nd May 2016

CSR AND MENTOR EXPERIENCE

The assignment for the 20th May 2016, was a mentorship meeting. Due to not being able
to find a mentor that could meet with me physically in the Chicago area, I went with the
undergraduate class to the YMCA to hear a lecture on Corporate Social Responsibility Ms. Laura
Freveletti, Senior Manager, Community Engagement for Allstate and President - elect of the
Corporate Responsibility Group of Chicago and to participate in a community service activity.
After the Corporate Social Responsibility activity, I was also able to conduct a phone interview
at the hotel with Dr. Bettyjo Bouchey, Associate Professor, and Program Director of
Undergraduate Business Programs at the National Louis University due to not being able to meet
with her in person because of her busy schedule.

It was exciting to see how involved Allstate is in regards to giving back to the
community. They have two signature issues they support which are domestic violence and youth
empowerment. Allstate participates in many volunteer activities that contribute to their program
regarding domestic violence and youth empowerment. It also raises awareness about these
issues. The reason why Allstate being involved in the community was so exciting to me because
my current place of work, DMS, is involved with giving back to the community. DMS
participates in community service activities as often as possible. Employees are given 16
working hours annually to volunteer that time to community service activities. About a month
ago, DMS participated in the Earth Day clean up by volunteering to clean a beach in the District
of Bodden.

CSR AND MENTOR EXPERIENCE

The community service activity was the highlight of my day due me being very
passionate about community service. I am a part of a nonprofit community service club called
the Rotaract Club of Grand Cayman. The club gives back to the community of the Cayman
Islands in many ways such as fundraising for school supplies for children in need, participating
in beach cleanups, and providing support to the NCVO, etc. Due to me being very passionate
about community service, I found it very disheartening and disappointing to hear other
volunteers from the Seminar complaining about participation. I feel that coming from a country
that is very fortune and not being exposed to other places that are less fortunate has allowed them
not to realize how much it means to the individuals and organizations we are giving back to.

As it relates to the Cayman Islands, even though we are very fortunate, there are some
individuals and organizations that are in need of assistance. For example, there are some families
who are unable to afford to purchase a proper meal. The Program Meals on Wheels was
developed in order to provide hot lunches to families who were not able to afford it. More should
and can be done to give back the community of the Cayman Islands. More corporations can take
the initiate to give back and make a difference within the community. There is much more than
can and should be done in the Cayman Islands, and it can only be done if the community comes
together as whole and do it.

When I got back to the hotel, I conducted a phone interview with Dr. Bettyjo Bouchey, I
was introduced to Dr. Bouchey by Dr. Vlad Dolgopolov, Associate Dean of the National Louis
University after our visit on 19th May 2016. Due to my topic of advancement of women in the

CSR AND MENTOR EXPERIENCE

workplace, one interesting thing that came out from the phone interview was that Dr. Bouchey
was that she did not feel she had any barriers to overcome in relation to the advancement in her
career because she decided there would be no barriers. She didnt take the what if approach but
more of the Im not going to make it hinder me approach. She also stated that due to coming
from a military family, her personality can be very aggressive. In light of this, she never felt
inferior in relation to men when in relation to advancement in the workplace.

I also found it interesting that Dr. Bouchey stated it is difficult to close the gap between
the stereotype of men and women in the workplace due to there being more men in the
workplace than women. Due to this happening, men set the stage for what is accepted and what
is not. She believed that of the number of women in the workplace increased, women would have
a stronger voice and would allow them to have say.

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5
References

1. Freveletti, Laura (2016). Overview of Allstate Corporate Responsibility and Chicago

Corporate Responsibility Group

2. Bouchey, Bettyjo (2016). Interview in regards to advancement of women in the

workplace.