Ryan Berg
A Creighton education is one of “endless opportunities,” says Ryan Berg, the Heider College of Business junior.
Ryan Berg blends marketing, social entrepreneurship and Spanish
College is a time to strengthen values and define goals. Creighton is the perfect place to do just that, says Ryan Berg.
“Find who you are and want to be, and strive to be like that,” he adds.
And who is Ryan Berg? And what does he want to be?
He is someone who values connectedness, who is interested in a career in medical sales, but who, thanks to his formative nonprofit experience in Peru, wants this career to be international, to tap into his understanding of Spanish and to somehow involve service work or be within the not-for-profit sector.
Berg is a junior marketing major and Spanish and Hispanic studies minor. Blending a business major with an arts and science minor is not only doable but encouraged, thanks to the Heider College of Business Kingfisher Curriculum, which requires Heider students to take three hours of College of Arts and Sciences coursework.
Berg’s first marketing course cemented his desire to pursue a career in the field. “I had a great professor who helped me to open my eyes to what a career in business could look like with a marketing degree,” he says. “The possibilities are endless.”
Like spending July in Peru’s Quispicanchi province outside of Cusco as a business and social entrepreneurship intern with The Quispicanchi Project, a nonprofit that supports and empowers rural and indigenous communities. Project Fabrica, The Quispicanchi Project’s social enterprise, works with entrepreneurs and local artisans – primarily women and at-risk youth – to produce one-of-a-kind hand-knit and hand-embroidered items. Sales proceeds are returned to both the artisans and the nonprofit, ensuring its sustainability.
Berg learned about The Quispicanchi Project from his roommate, College of Arts and Sciences student Matthew Freeman, who played an integral role in establishing the nonprofit. The two bonded over their shared interest in service (closer to home, Berg is highly involved with Best Buddies), particularly assisting those in vulnerable communities.
In Peru, Berg was tasked with creating the online presence of Project Fabrica. He and his team selected products for the website, took product photos and performed back-end website creation and design. He continued the internship remotely once he returned to the States, focusing his efforts on maintaining the website, especially important during the busy holiday season
Seeing the impact that the nonprofit has on those it serves was the aspect Berg most enjoyed about his internship experience with The Quispicanchi Project.
“Having an opportunity as raw and real as the one I experienced opened my eyes to many things I hadn’t seen before. Traveling to an unknown place, stripping yourself of normal comforts found in the States teaches you a lot,” Berg says. “Having the chance to see the work you do pay off, right in front of you, is a feeling I now crave in anything I do.”
His time in Peru was at once rewarding and disquieting. “There is always more we can do. That’s the hardest part. There’s constant struggle. And while the work we do is the best we can do, it isn’t enough to help everyone. The hardest part is seeing those around us continue to struggle despite our best efforts. But positive thinking and action are two things that take us one step closer to helping one more person, family and community live a better life.”
Adventure abroad continues for Berg. The St. Paul, Minnesota, native is wrapping up a semester in Córdoba, Spain, where is studying at University of Loyola - Córdoba campus.
While he is enjoying his time aboard, advancing his Spanish language fluency and traveling to new countries, Berg misses the Creighton community. His most impressionable memories of his years at Creighton are actually, and ironically, a series of smaller events that have colored his experience.
“Whether it’s the first night after rushing my fraternity, going to church and Bible study with my friends on Sunday and Monday, hitting Sonic at 1 a.m. on a school night, or studying in a Harper huddle room late the night before an accounting exam, it’s the Creighton family and community I’ve been so luck to build,” Berg says. “At the end of the day, good company is what I miss most being away and what I will cherish most when I wrap up my time in Omaha.”
