|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home » About Norwich » SGS Today »
Cecil Nance consults with Moldovan officials to install safe water systems [photo courtesy of Cecil Nance].
Diplomacy student pursues business, positive change in Moldova
by Daphne Larkin, staff
© Sept. 12, 2008 Norwich University Office of Communications
A graduate student used coursework and a passion to help people to start an international business.
Moldova, an ex-Soviet republic, may be an unlikely choice for locating a U.S. business, but Cecil Nance, 48, of Raleigh, N.C., knew the country from his 30 years as a U.S. Army engineer, when he worked on projects under the "Partnership for Peace" treaty beginning in 1994. Projects ranged from installing safe water systems to combat dysentery to construction of a medical facility for orphans.
A retired lieutenant colonel, Nance came to Norwich University's Master of Arts in Diplomacy (MDY) program after his military career ended in Iraq, 10 days after a Humvee accident that left him with a fractured spine and other injuries in 2005.
When he returned home, Nance (MDY'08) decided to reinvigorate dreams of a business conceived in 2004 just prior to deployment. He envisioned an engineering consulting company with a mission to help people in developing countries. His idea was to pair engineering firms with World Bank investment dollars in development projects in Moldova.
"I needed a transition in life from the military, and developing this company was the answer to my new chapter in life," Nance said. "I had set the company back up with plans for starting operations in Moldova, not realizing the [MDY] curriculum would open so many doors."
Nance found that coursework in the program provided structure to develop his plan. Encouraged by Dr. Eric Nelson, professor of international commerce in the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), Nance made his company, The Nance Group, LLC, a model for his class project.
Nance and two MDY teammates' work culminated in the development of a business plan. They researched the country's laws and anti-corruption efforts and developed an entry strategy.
The group found that, despite the rebuilding efforts in Moldova, career opportunities for Moldovans are scarce, and approximately a quarter of working-age Moldovans are employed abroad. Often workers going abroad find themselves coerced into exploitive situations and therefore human trafficking is a priority issue of both the Moldovan and U.S. governments, according to David Franz, the U.S. consul in Moldova.
Identifying Nance as an ethical businessman, Nance's Moldovan interpreter, an English professor named Iulia Ciubotareanu (whom he later hired as executive director), urged him to use his company to place Moldovan college students in safe summer jobs under the J1 visa program through the U.S. Department of State.
Nance saw this as an opportunity to help the developing nation in a different way than he originally conceived.
|
|
| |
“If you carry [Christian values] into your business life — do unto others, honesty and trust — it goes a long way in the business.” |
|
|
In light of the widespread issue of human trafficking, Nelson's only concern with Nance's business plan, which had evolved into a worker exchange program, was that he structured the business in a way that ensured a safe experience for participants.
The human trafficking system is complex and sometimes people or agencies become unknowing participants in it.
"My concern was to make sure it was something above-board," Nelson said. "International student trafficking doesn't have a good reputation. [I told him], ‘you have to find a way to make this a highly ethical business because you're getting into something kind of yucky.'"
As a Christian, Nance said he was up to the challenge, and that providing opportunities for students fit well with his mission of improving the world.
"If you carry [Christian values] into your business life — do unto others, honesty and trust — it goes a long way in the business," he said.
Nance took that belief a step further, and seized an opportunity to work with Moldovan officials in their anti-corruption efforts.
In April 2007, Nance hosted Moldovan officials visiting North Carolina to learn about business practices. He developed an ethics training program for the officials to take home.
"In Moldova there's been a long-term battle with bribery and corruption," Nance said. "People have to know what the definitions are and be taught what the good or best behavior is before they can correct it."
With working relations in place with Moldovan officials, Nance launched his business. Ciubotareanu spent about 30 days setting up The Nance Group in its Moldova office. The day after his class work ended in February 2007, Nance boarded a plane for Moldova to establish his company there.
Since implementing the company, Nance has placed dozens of Moldovan workers through summer work-and-travel programs and internships in North Carolina and New England and worked in conjunction with a California staffing agency. In the U.S., these students are employed in national parks, country clubs, gated communities and as au pairs. He is also working on pairing Moldovan engineers and information technology workers with U.S. firms.
Ciubotareanu recruits the students in Moldova, and Nance addresses any issues that arise while they're in the U.S. "I'm their advocate when they're here," said Nance, who anticipates placing up to 8,000 Moldovan workers in U.S. jobs next year.
Franz, who has worked at the U.S. embassy in Moldova for two years, said although it is too early to tell the effect of Nance's work in the country, he believes "absolutely" that Nance is a good influence on business in Moldova.
"That kind of personal exposure of this generation of Moldovans to American culture is going to have a tremendous influence if they get an opportunity to be in a position to make decisions about the direction of the country," Franz said.
Others are encouraged simply by Nance's energy.
"He's doing this because he honestly believes he is making a difference," Nelson said. "That is a noble goal."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Norwich University - School of Graduate Studies
|
Admissions: 1-800-460-5597
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
