Recent Alumna Reflects on GLOBE Experience

The final semester of senior year at St. John’s University proved to be especially meaningful for Grace Bagdon ’22C due to her participation in the Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs (GLOBE) program. She was one of three St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students in the student-managed microfinance program led by Linda Sama, Ph.D., Professor, Management, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business. 

“Through GLOBE, I learned so much about the microfinance industry,” she said. “I appreciated that both the benefits and potential risks or negatives of microfinance were presented, so I was able to gain a more holistic view of the practice.” 

GLOBE provides loans and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs in the developing world. Its purpose is to educate students in microfinance and offer them a cross-cultural and experiential learning experience while carrying out St. John’s University’s Vincentian mission of helping the poor and marginalized.  

Ms. Bagdon served as a member of the Enterprise Development team, researching and assessing region-specific problems that would impact loan applications and review. Her working group also assisted in loan review and tracking. Noting that she was inspired to apply to the program by her fellow students, Ms. Bagdon felt it was a great opportunity to not only expand her research knowledge, but her network, by working with St. John’s students across the different Schools and Colleges of the University. 

In collaboration with the Daughters of Charity, GLOBE operates in seven countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, and Vietnam. The entrepreneurs are primarily women, and through GLOBE, they receive loan fees at three to five percent as opposed to the usual rates of 18 to 35 percent. 

“As I reflect on the total experience that I had during the spring semester in GLOBE, I feel very thankful,” Ms. Bagdon observed. “I came into the program knowing essentially nothing about microfinance and how it fits with global development and social justice.”

Ms. Bagdon was a double major in Global Development and Sustainability and Anthropology with minors in Africana Studies, History, and Social Justice: Theory and Practice in the Vincentian Tradition. Advocacy and social justice are core values for Ms. Bagdon, and she was also part of the Ozanam Scholars program, which strives to create academic and Vincentian leaders both on and off campus. 

St. John’s provided Ms. Bagdon with a strong academic and moral foundation, and she developed strong research skills and a better understanding of the University’s Vincentian values as a student. “The professors at St. John’s truly helped me cultivate my passions and figure out what I wanted to research,” she explained. 

Experiences like GLOBE lined up well with Ms. Bagdon’s aspirations. “I was able to have it both ways: do research and be a part of a community.”

Ms. Bagdon will attend Columbia University this fall to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health. While at St. John’s, Ms. Bagdon completed internships with the US Department of State, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Foreign Service Institute.