Margo Bigue '29, International Relations

"Being a part of the merit scholars cohort has given me such a strong sense of community and belonging here."

For Margo Bigue '29, the concept of community expands beyond Bucknell's 445-acre campus. It extends into the businesses, nonprofits and neighborhoods of the surrounding Susquehanna River Valley, where her research is already making a difference. 

Bigue, who is from Half Moon Bay, Calif., came to Bucknell as a recipient of a Malesardi College of Arts & Sciences Merit Scholar Program. The program pairs first-year students with a Bucknell professor for a yearlong fellowship project.

Bigue chose to work with Robyn Eversole, the Howard I. Scott Professor of Practice in Social Entrepreneurship in the Freeman College of Management, on a social enterprise research project focused on the Susquehanna River Valley.

"Our central research question is: How prevalent is social enterprise in rural communities in the Susquehanna River Valley, what are its characteristics, and what role does it play?" Bigue says. "We define social enterprise as a business model where organizations blend mission with money. Each organization has a mission to create positive social change and uses trade to fulfill it. They operate in a hybrid space, so not purely for-profit and not purely nonprofit."

Arriving at Bucknell with an interest in community service, Bigue was drawn to the idea of using business to create a positive social impact, even if the formal concept of social enterprise was new to her. 

Through her work, Bigue studies how local businesses and nonprofits incorporate social missions into their operations and explores how they might balance profit with social good.

"I have loved working with Professor Eversole, and I am really thankful for the overlap into the Freeman College of Management because, as a College of Arts and Sciences student, I was eager to do something with business," she says. "This became the perfect overlap, because social enterprise has that positive social mission, which I've always been drawn to."

In the fall, Bigue hosted a Social Enterprise Workshop with Professor Eversolve to share their research with key stakeholders in the region, which was in collaboration with the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership and Bucknell's Small Business Development Center.

Separately, in February, Bigue was invited as a student speaker at Bucknell's Cultivating Entrepreneurial & Innovative Mindsets in Nonprofits & the Arts event at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, where she also shared insights from the same research project.

"We are now launching the next phase of strategic interviews to explore what future social enterprise initiatives could look like in the Susquehanna River Valley region," she says. "It has been such a great opportunity for me, especially as a first-year student. I feel like I'm gaining a lot of experience in marketing and networking."

Bigue is one of about 10 students who received the Malesardi College of Arts and Sciences Merit Scholarship, who often meet with the College of Engineering Merit Scholars. "Having this project and being a part of the merit scholars cohort has been such a great community, and has allowed me to feel a sense of belonging here," she says.

Using her research as a platform for discovery, Bigue has found meaningful connections among her interests at Bucknell. She plans to major in international relations, with a concentration in sustainability and development.

"I love learning about global issues; it just really fascinates me," she says. "Professor Eversole is from Tasmania, Australia, so she has a super global perspective of businesses and social enterprise. I'm already beginning to see the overlap with the project and my international relations courses."

Bigue studied Italian throughout high school and participated in a study abroad program in Udine, Italy. The opportunity to continue pursuing Italian studies in college helped inform her decision to attend Bucknell. She is studying abroad in Florence this summer with a program called World Strides.

Looking ahead, Bigue plans to submit a research paper with Eversole to an academic journal based on their findings in the region. She will also continue conducting strategic interviews with local stakeholders as the project expands. 

"We are trying to figure out that perfect balance between keeping businesses afloat while giving back at the same time," she says.

She envisions social enterprise continuing to grow — locally and globally — and hopes to carry that work forward through her studies in international relations.