Dr. David Smith and his middle school students have invested more than $1M in microloans to combat global poverty 

GLENSIDE, Pa. (September 4 , 2024) — Arcadia University alumnus David Smith EdD ’00 was awarded the 2024 Dr. Finbarr O’Connor Prize for Shifting the Paradigm, which this year is a $15,000 prize, for his project, “One Million Dollar Team.” This project teaches middle school students to help eliminate systemic poverty through the empowerment of microloans in the U.S. and abroad. 

The Dr. Finbarr O’Connor Prize for Shifting the Paradigm is a competitive prize awarded to an Arcadia student, alumni, faculty, staff, or parent who challenges conventional thinking, solves problems in their field, or addresses issues in their local and global communities through discovery, critical analysis, logic, and creativity. 

The O’Connor Prize, established through the support of Suneet P. Chauhan, MD ’79, ’18H and his wife, Laurie Pitchford, is named in honor of Dr. Finbarr “Barry” O’Connor, professor emeritus and former chair of Religion and Philosophy. Professor O’Connor served Beaver College and Arcadia University for 50 years and is the second longest serving member of the faculty.

Smith, who teaches social studies at Garden Spot Middle School in Eastern Lancaster County, Pa., began instructing his students 15 years ago about the benefits of microloans in poverty elimination. Different from a charitable handout, microloans are a small, interest-free advance for financing entrepreneurial projects serving impoverished individuals and groups, particularly in underserved or developing regions. The projects financed by these microloans often generate sustainable, even generational, income for a person, family, or region. Each dollar raised is loaned, repaid, and reloaned, compounding the impact of each dollar. 

Around the same time that Smith began teaching this poverty-elimination tool to his middle school students, he developed the One Million Dollar Team, which set a goal for himself and his students to provide $1M in loans to people around the world. In a decade and a half, the One Million Dollar Team has raised $40,000, but through the loan and reloan cycle, they’ve invested more than 1 million dollars to over 40,000 families in 91 countries, as well as many states in the U.S.

For example, Smith and his One Million Dollar Team of students have made loans in Central and South America for the purchase of sewing machines, in Europe for livestock, and for water filtration systems in Africa, among many other life-changing investments. 

For Smith, though, One Million Dollar Team is about more than just the loan recipients, but about teaching his middle school students that they can creatively find solutions to the world’s perennial problems, like systemic poverty. “These kids,” Smith said, “have proven to the world, but more importantly to themselves, that they can have a positive impact on others anywhere on this earth.” Smith also hopes that his students realize that solving societal problems is not just the responsibility of adults. “I believe that what the world needs to do is empower our children to be part of the solution to the problems that adults have created and appear unwilling to fix on their own.” 

Smith sums up his philosophy this way: “There is this emphasis on asking kids, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Instead, we should be asking them, “Who do you want to be?’”

The $15,000 prize from the 2024 Finbarr O’Connor Prize will have a huge impact on One Million Dollar Team and the students who participate. “An infusion of $15,000 into this program would shift the paradigm to allow us to make even more microloans and teach even more students about the power of creative solutions. With $15,000 loaned and reloaned, this support will continue to compound for positive results.”

A 90-second video about One Million Dollar Team, produced by the Kiva microloan web platform, can be found HERE. 

The O’Connor Prize selection committee received 15 submissions for the 2024 award. Each was reviewed for completeness (responding to the five required questions), adherence to submission requirements, depth of impact, proof of program/project launch, natural ability to replicate for broader impact, and a shift in the paradigm.

There will be one more, final opportunity for the Arcadia community to submit applications for the O’Connor Prize in 2025. Details will be announced later this year. 

Past recipients of the Dr. Finbarr O’Connor Prize for Shifting the Paradigm include*: 

2022

Professor of Visual and Performance Arts Abbey Ryan ’03; Adjunct Professor of Visual and Performance Arts David Guinn; Adjunct Professor of Visual and Performance Arts Maryann Worrell ’05; and Adjunct Professor of Visual and Performance Arts Krista Profitt ’11. 

Arcadia Public Art Project: Involving the community to transform non-descript public spaces into lively, colorful, and welcoming art spaces, while moving the community to conversation. 

2021

Meg Eubank ’05, ’07MEd.  Welcoming the Stranger: Serving immigrants and refugees with free educational opportunities and resources. 

*The selection committee determined no applications met the criteria for an award in 2023.