The Alma College Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team were crowned champions of the Chicago, Ill., SIFE USA Regional Competition April 11. This is the fourth consecutive regional win for the Alma College SIFE team, which was established in 2000.
Of special significance, Alma College s SIFE team was recognized at the regional competition as the only SIFE team in the region to advance to the national competition in the special category titled Polsky Personal Investing to Achieve Financial Independence. Alma’s project, involving 10 percent of the Alma campus, taught students the importance of saving and investing early to achieve financial independence.
According to Ronald Lemmon, assistant professor of business administration, a Sam Walton Fellow and faculty advisor to Alma’s SIFE team, “The judges at the Chicago regional competition were impressed by the quality of the projects completed and even more so by the quality of the presentation made by the Alma College students.”
One of the judges noted, “The Alma College SIFE team did an excellent job in their presentation … very professional and presented a business image.”
The Alma SIFE team, consisting of 31 Alma College students, competed with 57 teams and more than 500 students from campuses throughout the Midwest to earn the right to move on to Kansas City, Mo., to compete in the SIFE National Exposition May 23, with the further opportunity to compete in the SIFE International Exposition in Toronto, Canada, in September. The event was one of 21 SIFE USA Regional Competitions conducted across the United States.
During the academic year, Alma College SIFE organized seven projects in the Gratiot County community. On one noteworthy project, “The Apprentice,” Alma College SIFE team members worked with management students to help raise more than $4,000 for Gratiot County Big Brothers Big Sisters by organizing a formal dinner and auction.
SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on over 1,800 university campuses in more than 40 countries. SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that teach market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills, and business ethics. Projects and presentation skills are judged by senior executives from Fortune 500 companies, who base their decisions on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.
