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gone tomorrow. They have genuine interest."
• The business school's association with Pine Ridge began in 2010 when then-dean Stig Lanesskog took four students on a 2010 trip out to the reservation.
• Lanesskog, now an associate provost, wanted the MBA program to stress corporate and social responsibility and he was looking for ways to give students hands-on experience that could help guide future decision making.
• "When you're in a situation to be able to make a decision about locating your business, are you only thinking about the financial aspects?" Lanesskog wondered. "Can you be thinking about the other impact beyond financials?"
• So students Adam Ratner and Nick Reynolds created the Kola Foundation, with plans to turn over leadership to new students each year. Participation by MBA stu

dents is voluntary with no course or internship credits offered.
• The Kola Foundation partnered with LDS Charities in April 2011 to deliver $80,000 worth of winter clothes, hygiene kits, school kits and quilts, and a group of new students travel out to Pine Ridge each summer.
• Ratner, a foundation co-founder who has since graduated, said getting students out to the reservation is key.
• "These people saw it for themselves, so Day 1 they were invested," Ratner said. "For our first year, we had to spend the first month and a half educating people about Pine Ridge so they would care."
• Ratner said he hopes as Kola Foundation graduates spread out into the business world, they'll continue to support the group and have their employers contribute.
• Wohaldo said Kola is trying to use its business knowledge and resources to spur economic development on the reservation. The group is helping to sponsor the LNI Business Plan Competition, which is each December in Rapid City as part of the annual Lakota Nations Invitational basketball tournament. And it's looking at ways to provide help in developing and improving small businesses on the reservation through consulting.
• Kola also wants to pair reservation high school students with MBA student mentors to help prepare them for college. The foundation aims to bring two students out to the university next summer to spend a few weeks immersed in education enrichment courses and real-world projects sponsored by companies such as Kraft and ADM.
• Wohaldo said Kola is working primarily through partnerships with groups such as Re-Member, Teach for America and Lakota Funds. Student leaders are always looking for opportunities to connect with more people, but she hopes that projects

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