When business students learn to serve

Ask any business student about a company's purpose, and you'll likely hear one word: profit. For years, we've defined success in business education through numbers—revenue, growth, and market share. But what if we're missing something crucial in this equation?

As a business professor teaching Service-Learning (SL) for over five years, I've witnessed the transformation when we expand this narrow definition. Through SL, we're teaching future business leaders that true success lies not just in serving shareholders, but society as a whole.

Let me tell you about Project MAGKASAPI (MAGkasamang KAunlaran SA Pag-aaral at Paglalarong Intelektwal). Last year, my class of graduating business students embarked on an ambitious venture: developing board games to teach disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) to young children in Banate, Iloilo. Our partner, Share An Opportunity Inc. (SAO), had been advocating for DRRM in the region, and our students saw an opportunity to make a difference.

The class was a diverse mix—marketing majors, economists, entrepreneurs, and business management students. Rather than letting this diversity become a barrier, they leveraged it. They organized into sub-committees: one for fundraising, another for game design and production, and a third for coordinating donations. Despite having only three months in our trimestral system, they exceeded every goal we set.

Was it challenging? Absolutely. Our La Sallian Reflection Framework—See-Experience (Masid-Danas), Analyze-Reflect (Suri-Nilay), and Commit-Action (Taya-Kilos)—often felt like an uphill climb for students more accustomed to spreadsheets than social impact. The post-pandemic hybrid teaching model created additional hurdles, limiting face-to-face interaction between students, faculty, and the community.

A year later, while preparing for the 2024 Uniservitate competition, I witnessed something remarkable. Those same students, now alumni, eagerly returned to help. Reaching out to SAO, we learned what started as five board games had multiplied, reaching 31 daycare centers across Banate, Iloilo.

Documenting our project's impact on the competition revealed its true scope. Despite minimal direct interaction due to distance and pandemic restrictions, our SAO partners reported significant improvements in children's understanding of disaster preparedness. The games made complex DRRM concepts accessible and engaging for young learners.

The challenges of teaching Service-Learning are numerous. It demands time beyond standard teaching hours—coordinating with community partners, motivating students to share their skills, and standardizing assessments across diverse projects. University funding is often limited, and the trimestral system constrains the time students can spend in the projects and communities

Yet, as we navigated these obstacles, something profound happened. Our Project MAGKASAPI won first prize in the 2024 Uniservitate SL Awards for Asia and the Oceania region. But the real victory wasn't in the accolade. It was in the transformation I witnessed—in my students, in the community, and in myself. Former number-crunchers became passionate advocates. Business leaders learned that profit and purpose aren't mutually exclusive.

As we celebrated our win, the conversation shifted from "What did we achieve?" to "What else can we do?" The team is now exploring how to share our board games with other users and gamify other advocacy topics, extending the impact beyond disaster preparedness to other crucial community needs.

This approach represents a fundamental shift from passive to active learning. When business students see their knowledge directly impacting real-world issues, abstract concepts transform into concrete understanding. Balance sheets become tools for community empowerment. Marketing strategies turn into vehicles for social change.

As we prepare the next generation of business leaders, we're increasingly confident that we're equipping them for more than just corporate success. Through projects like MAGKASAPI, we're nurturing active, engaged citizens who understand that business can—and should—be a force for good in society.

Yes, profit matters. But as our students discover through Service-Learning, the greatest returns often can't be measured on a balance sheet. These future business leaders are learning a crucial lesson: successful businesses don't just serve themselves—they serve society. And in that service, they often find their greatest success.