Emily Pobuda, a 2012 Clarkston High School graduate, has spent her summer helping others.
She is currently a summer representative for Serengetee. The company purchases fabric from developing countries from impoverished women. They turn the fabric into pocket squares on shirts in a range of styles.
“They then give the money back to the women or special causes in those developing areas,” Pobuda said.
While being a representative for them, she has been working on promoting the company and getting the word out in local communities as well as national and globablly by using social media.
Social media is one of the ways she found Serengetee. Another way was from a few of her friends who had been representatives.
“The men who found it were students through a study abroad program called Semester at Sea, which I will be embarking on in the fall,” Pobuda said. “I read about their journey. Then, I found out rep positions were available so I applied because it is similar to what I want to do as a career.”
She added she has learned a lot while working with them.
Pobuda is currently studying International Studies at Adrian College where she is in her senior year.
“I found it really fascinating,” she said about her course of study. “I could incorporate all kinds of academic disciplines into my major. I could use economics as well as politics and social studies. It was very attracting to me because I didn’t need to narrow down my field even further.”
She would like to work for an organization which helps provide microcredit monetary loans to improverished women in developing countries.
“They would use anywhere from 5-30 dollars to buy a goat for themselves or their family which would allow them to sell the milk at market,” Pobuda explained. “Then, they can use that money to provide an education for their families or continue their own entrepreneur endeavors.?
During the fall she will spend 100 days with the foreign study program, Semester at Sea.
Pobuda added the Clarkston community can help out by educating themselves on what the company does and purchasing from the company or from her.
“They have other products like shirts that are produced with the fabrics from developing countries such as backpacks, hats and purses,” she added. “Just by contributing to that they become part of the global community Serengetee has established.”
For more information, visit www.serengetee.com. For purchases, enter the promotional code ‘Pobuda15? to earn 15 percent off your purchase, through the end of the summer.