GCSEN’s tenth anniversary has been a great way to reconnect with our alumni for our “Where Are They Now” series. It’s so inspiring to see the many paths our graduates have taken. Today, we’re talking to Cole Paul, a 2023 graduate of Wheaton College who attended our 2020 Boot Camp and has found a career he loves, and more, in the few years since his GCSEN days.
Cole says, "I’m a big fan of GCSEN and Professor Caz. In my first year of college (2020) I took an intro-level business class, and Mike came to speak and promote the Boot Camp, and I was all in. I loved the Boot Camp experience. The idea of Social Entrepreneurship was something that was new, but really resonated with me. I got a lot of great skills, day-to-day skills, like how to prepare a powerpoint, and the inner workings of a new business, like how to pitch funding. One thing I appreciate about GCSEN was how the program was very low-to-the-ground, nitty gritty stuff, that they don’t cover in regular college classes, which focus on more big-picture ideas. GCSEN provided really good insight into the flipside of that."
Above: Cole Paul and Professor Caz in 2020
These days, Cole has a full-time job, making digital media for a health research company in Boston, The ADA Forsyth Institute. He's still thinking about the impact GCSEN had: "I’m really big on things that have a positive social impact. I am still really into branded storytelling, just like my days with GCSEN. I love being in the world of where marketing and filmmaking can intersect and help elevate a brand’s story. Oral health research is the core of what we (at ADA Forsyth) do, but we also work with a lot of start-ups, helping them, and also doing community outreach, going to schools throughout New England providing free oral health care to kids. My role is making pictures and videos about science and managing our relationships with start-up companies. I 100% use what I learned from GCSEN in my day-to-day job. Even during my hiring interview, they asked me why I was drawn to their work, and I was able to point to my love of social-forward companies, a concept that was introduced to me by GCSEN.”
Cole also does freelance work on the side, and credits some of his earliest experience to his work with GCSEN, and Mike Caslin, who referred him to one of his first clients. He also credits his entrepreneurial training with helping him survive the in-between time when he had graduated but was looking for a job: "Coming out of college and figuring out what to do, I felt like I could lean on my freelance skills and connections that I had- while it was a stressful time, it was cool that I had a lot of skills to lean on and have some work to do- GCSEN was actually a big part of that."
When asked if he thinks of himself as a 4P Social Entrepreneur, Cole had this to say:
"I consider myself a 4P Social Entrepreneur in a different capacity than I once was. The freelance clients I am drawn to are doing things that 4PSE is big on- doing things for the good of society. GCSEN taught me that you can do all these cool things in the business world but you can also benefit the people around you and see things impact communities in a positive way. That’s one of the reasons I love both my main job and my freelance work with non-profits. GCSEN opened my eyes that that’s a thing you can do, a thing you can name."
What’s next for Cole Paul? Cole loves his job right now and hopes to continue on his current path and hopefully move into a leadership role. We can see he has a bright future in his field and know that he will continue to apply the GCSEN principles of considering People, Planet, Profit, and Place to all his endeavors! Anyone who’s interested in Cole’s freelance video and storytelling services can check out his website and sign up for his newsletter!
Above: Cole Paul in 2025
