At the beginning of the Fall 2007 quarter, Leanne Hilgart was seeking an opportunity to participate in a service trip through DePaul but was dismayed to find that no programs existed specifically for graduate business students. She began recruiting fellow MBA students to put together a unique service trip opportunity.

Leanne was able to stir up so much interest from within the Full-Time MBA 1st Year Cohort that the 12 spots she originally planned on filling for a service trip were quickly expanded to 16. Together, the students decided to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana and put our business skills to good use within the community which continues to struggle from the devastating flooding after Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. Instead of doing traditional service projects of builiding housing, we chose to seek out businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs within the New Orleans community that needed assistance. By helping the business and non-profit communities, we felt we would be able to make a bigger and more lasting impact on the area.

A planning committee was created to shoulder the tasks of securing funding for the trip, finding service opportunities in New Orleans, and identifying opportunities to spend our budget with the greatest benefit going directly into the New Orleans economy.

Our service projects allowed us to create partnerships with the DePaul School of Public Service, Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, InExchange, and The Idea Village.

When we began planning our trip to New Orleans, we realized there was no existing service-focused organization for MBA students at DePaul. We decided to name ourselves the DePaul Business Corps to implement a sense of permanence and ongoing commitment. We intend to continue using our business skills and donating our time and efforts where they are needed whether that is in New Orleans, Chicago, or another location.

To clarify the purpose of our mission, the DePaul Business Corps decided to adopt the motto "Pro Bono Publico" from the Rex krewe which translates to "For the Public Good."

Please explore our website further to find out about the four service projects we participated in this past fall.