Harvard Student Agencies

Harvard Student Agencies, Inc.
Type	501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Founded	Harvard University, 1957
Headquarters	Cambridge, MA, United States
Subsidiaries	Let's Go The Harvard Shop
Website	www.hsa.net

Harvard Student Agencies, Inc. (HSA) is the largest student-run company in the world, employing more than 500 Harvard undergraduates annually. Founded in 1957, HSA is a multi-million dollar non-profit that provides Harvard University students with meaningful opportunities for employment and hands-on business education. Student managers lead all aspects of the operations and strategy behind HSA's 14 businesses, which range from publishing to tutoring to bartending, including Let's Go (the leader in student travel), HSA Cleaners (a laundry and dry-cleaning service), and The Harvard Shop (a storefront and web retail business).^[1]

HSA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and was founded to help defray rising tuition costs while providing practical business experience for Harvard undergraduates and supplying services to the campus community.

HSA is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

History

Founding

HSA was founded in 1957 on the ideal of financing education through student employment. With Harvard's tuition on the rise, members of the Financial Aid Office were concerned that the increased cost of higher education would adversely affect the social and economic make-up of those applying to Harvard. At the same time, some ambitious students were running small-scale businesses out of their dorm rooms. John Munro, Dean of Financial Aid, assigned Dustin M. Burke, Director of Student Employment, to investigate student businesses as a possible source of financial aid and to begin developing the idea that would become Harvard Student Agencies.

Later that spring, a meeting with student managers revealed considerable interest in the idea of a corporation, and more concrete plans began to emerge. With an initial capital investment of $7,000 and the acquisition of the rights to provide the weekly linen service traditionally offered by the university, HSA was equipped to carry its corporate overhead. The remaining pieces quickly fell into place. In August 1957, the papers authorizing a new company were filed. On September 10, the new corporation's first meeting was held. On December 13, 1957, the charter was signed recognizing the six original incorporators: John Munro, Dustin Burke, Greg Stone, John Giannetti, Theodore Elliot, and Harold Rosenwald.^[2]

Current Agencies

HSA Cleaners (est. 1957) provides the Harvard community and Greater Boston area with high quality laundry, dry cleaning, bulk wash, and linen rental services at the most competitive prices in all of Harvard Square. With five physical locations as well as a timesaving pick-up and delivery service, HSA Cleaners is dedicated to serving local businesses, residents, and the campus community.

HSA Dorm Essentials (est. 1957) gives Harvard students everything they need to live comfortably on campus. HSA Dorm Essentials provides linens, drink delivery, furniture, refrigerators, fans, and packing boxes to students as well as to alumni and summer program participants.

HSA Temp Agency (est. 1959) matches Harvard students with prospective customers for stand-alone job opportunities. HSA Temp Agency offers licensed bartenders and wait staff for receptions, celebrations, and other events, and the student team also provides proxy research and moving services.

Let’s Go (est. 1960) is the only travel guide created exclusively by students for students. Run entirely by Harvard students, Let’s Go offers a fresh, young perspective on hundreds of travel destinations around the globe, and has become one of the most popular hubs of travel information, tips, and know-how through its guides, mobile apps, and website. Built around the unique viewpoint of energetic, budget-minded explorers, Let’s Go’s firsthand, insider knowledge of the student travel experience entices adventure lovers of all ages.

The Harvard Bartending Course (est. 1963) provides TIPS certification and mixology training for aspiring bartenders in the Boston area. Popular among both students and community members, the one-day course has trained more than 50,000 participants, giving graduates the certification and skills to bartend at any restaurant, bar, or club.

HSA Marketing (est. 1975) connects outside businesses with the Harvard community as well as other Boston campuses. With a broad portfolio of online and print publications, such as the Unofficial Guide series and the Harvard Guide to Summer Opportunities, HSA Marketing provides custom advertising packages to suit businesses’ unique needs.

Harvard Distribution (est. 1980) offers campus postering, mailbox stuffing, and door-dropping services to connect businesses with students at Harvard and MIT. The Harvard Distribution team distributes inside student dormitories, putting advertisers as close to the undergraduate community as possible.

The Cronin Center for Enterprise (est. 1981) plans and funds cutting-edge educational forums and career development programs to spur undergraduate interest in business, and to bridge the gap between education and professional careers. The Cronin Center for Enterprise’s capstone program, the Business Leadership Program, provides select undergraduates with a unique educational experience combining lectures from Harvard Business School professors with corporate presentations and networking events.

The Harvard Shop (est. 2001) offers Harvard merchandise and apparel for students, affiliates, and visitors alike at its three Harvard Square locations and an online store. The Harvard Shop is the exclusive supplier of the One Ring, the only Harvard University class ring officially sponsored by students.

HSA Translation (est. 2005) provides notarized translations of academic transcripts, medical records, government and other documents. A member of the American Translators Association, HSA Translation only hires native speakers or students who have been vetted by Harvard professors.

HSA Tutoring (est. 2006) provides comprehensive SAT and other standardized test prep, as well as private in-person and online academic tutoring. In addition to offering tutoring packages and the SAT and ACT SOS Courses, HSA Tutoring offers summer programs based on academic tutoring and leadership.

Mt. Auburn Productions (est. 2012) is a student-run video and multimedia production company that works with student groups and businesses at Harvard University and in the greater Boston area. It provides a range of services, including commercial advertising and creative projects.

GroupGear (est. 2014) offers custom apparel and accessories to organizations at Harvard and around the country. With an expansive catalog, as well as collegiate and Greek licensing, GroupGear is dedicated to serving small student clubs and national companies alike. Functionalities such as online custom stores allow individual group members to buy and pay for products online, saving GroupGear customers time and money.

Boston Apparel Co. (est. 2014) is an e-commerce business specializing in Boston-themed merchandise, including athletic and collegiate apparel and accessories. This online-only store offers a wide range of items for Boston natives and tourists alike.

HSA Headquarters: Burke-McCoy Hall

HSA Headquarters is located at 67 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge MA, in the former Manter Hall School building which was built in 1927. Established in 1884, Manter Hall School helped students prepare for Harvard’s entrance exams during the 1930s and offered four and eight hour review sessions before every major Harvard mid-term and final examination. Although enrollment reached a peak of 250 in the late 1940s, by 1994 only 19 students were registered. At this time, Robert Hall, the owner of the building and manager of the school for 57 years, turned 83 and began talking to Harvard Student Agencies. Mr. Hall came to understand the unique educational opportunities HSA afforded to students and decided to sell the property to HSA in the spring of 1994.^[3]

In the summer of 1995, Robert W. McCoy (Harvard College ‘62, Harvard Business School ‘65) pledged a substantial lead gift to HSA’s capital campaign. The building was dedicated as Burke-McCoy Hall on February 5, 1997, and the dream of a permanent home for HSA was a reality.^[4] The building was named in honor of Dustin M. Burke, the first General Manager of HSA (1957-1970); Hester Bell McCoy, who joined HSA in 1961 as the company’s secretary; and Robert McCoy, Manager of Europe-by-Car, Assistant General Manager to Dusty Burke, and Let’s Go business manager upon his graduation from business school.

HSA currently occupies the top three floors and basement of Burke-McCoy Hall. Bank of America, Boloco (formerly The Wrap) and the Tennis & Squash Shop occupy the retail level of Burke-McCoy Hall. Behind the building, enough space exists to accommodate construction of a substantial annex for future expansion.

HSA also has four other locations in Cambridge MA at 17 Holyoke Street, and the Harvard Shops at 52 JFK Street, 65 Mt. Auburn Street, and in the Smith Campus Center Arcade.

Notable Alumni

Because Harvard Student Agencies employees are all students when working for the company, many of its alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in various sectors.

Michael Cohrs, financier, Fellow of Cambridge University
Michael F. Cronin,^[5] businessman, co-founder Weston Presidio
Oliver Koppell,^[6] New York politician
Deval Patrick,^[7]^[8] politician, civil rights lawyer, Massachusetts governor
Ken Powell,^[9] CEO General Mills
Andrea Silbert,^[10] businesswoman, co-founder and former CEO of the Center for Women & Enterprise
Thomas G. Stemberg,^[11] businessman and venture capitalist, co-founder of Staples Inc.
Andrew Tobias, columnist, author, and DNC treasurer

Several young alumni have been named as Forbes' 30 Under 30

2015 - Scott Crouch for Enterprise Technology;^[12] Alex Bick for Healthcare^[13]
2014 - Brian Fienstein for Finance^[14]