Peter Ottens has taken the lessons he learned in the classrooms and on the basketball courts at Madison College and used them to help create an organization with the goal of educating the world’s youth in cooperation and tolerance. Ottens, 24, and partners Marthy Rodriguez, 24, and Giannini Olieberg, 19, this fall founded “I In Team,” an organization based in the Netherlands that travels across the globe putting on team building workshops.

Ottens, who is originally from Rotterdam, Netherlands, received his Associates of Business from Madison College in 2010. He spent two years on the men’s basketball team, earning academic all-conference honors in his final year. He continued his studies in Taipei, Taiwan, before returning home to Rotterdam to complete his Bachelors of Business.

“All my experiences from the past inspired me to start I In Team,” Ottens said. “ I made a big step towards my personal business goals by surrounding myself with the right people.”

As one might imagine, transitioning from student to successful business owner hopeful requires careful planning and expert execution. Together with Olieberg, and Rodriguez, Ottens began to collaborate with his friends to reach that ideal using their own teamwork. During the planning stages together, the men took the first steps with an uncommon concept on teamwork to help unify and strengthen communities.

Ottens explained how I In Team’s goals and the business of providing team building workshops has the ability to change the way people communicate between groups and communities.

“When people realize how much they can accomplish when working together with others we can achieve so much more,” he said. “If we teach this to the younger generations they could possibly come to the realization that we all live here together, we already are a team, so why not work together with no matter to which race, culture, or religion separates us. Working together as a team is a necessity in order to solve world global issues. Taking care of our surroundings and our one and only mother earth is a common goal for the concern of everyone.”

I In Team started its first project with a trip to Ghana, Africa, to the village of Anwia Nkwanta to work with the children of the Save Our Lives Orphanage in August of 2011. While Ottens and his team helped teach the children about teamwork through fun and educational workshops, the I In Team staff learned lessons by observing the supportive and harmonious lifestyles in the village.

“When I was young and in high school, I originally made plans for business school with the intentions of job security and a nice paycheck,” Ottens said. “But after my first trip everything changed even more than when we formed the idea.

“The children of the orphanage had very little, and they had just lost one of their housing units to a fire upon our arrival. I got to experience with my own eyes how strong their community was. They wash each other; perform the chores of cleaning dishes, and washing laundry together. And through it all despite their losses they were still smiling, happy and hospitable. Everyone helps each other and no one complains, it changed my outlook on life in many ways we learned from each other.”

Ottens, Rodriquez, and Giannini continue to expand their business as they collaborate with students and educators all over the world. The team has also visited community centers and schools in Surinam and Taiwan, bring students the unbiased message of teamwork and the strength it can bring to every existing community.

The I In Team website is found at www.i-inteam.com and boast the team’s recent accomplishments including what the future holds for its team members and those who wish to join the movement.

“I foresee a bright future for I In Team,” Ottens said. “When I look at all the work we’ve done so far in one year I am convinced we can achieve a lot more and officially lay out our plans to potential participants. We aim to reach out to the youth and provide workshops for professional organizations as well. Many men can make a fortune, but very few can build a family, which is the goal of I In Team.”