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SIFE Team Selected for Credit Challenge

The Alma College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team has been selected as one of 120 SIFE teams in the United States to participate in the AIG Credit Counseling Challenge, receiving a three-year grant designed to educate college freshmen and seniors on credit management techniques.

SIFE teams developed and submitted grant proposals for implementing campus educational programs to teach students about the responsible use of credit. The $3,000 grants, spread over three years, will fund workshops and educational materials.

“The Alma grant proposal developed jointly by Midland junior Lindsey Siebert, SIFE project manager, and Bay City junior Samantha Lazarowicz, SIFE vice president, was well written and well received by the national review panel,” says SIFE faculty advisor Ron Lemmon.

An important part of the grant includes sending an Alma SIFE student to New York City during the first week of February for a two-day credit counseling training session. Lazarowicz will represent the Alma College SIFE team in New York.

“SIFE team members are very excited about the opportunity and are looking forward to implementing the program on campus,” says Lemmon. “Their goal is to reach 50 percent of the freshmen and 50 percent of seniors. We will launch our program next fall.”

SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on more than 1,600 college and 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, business ethics, and financial literacy. Alma’s SIFE group works on multiple projects both on and off campus throughout the academic year.

Seventy-three students are members of the Alma College chapter of SIFE. About 45 to 55 students will travel to Chicago March 23 through 25 for the annual SIFE USA Regional Competition. At regional competitions, SIFE teams present the results of their education outreach projects and compete to determine which teams were most successful at creating economic opportunity for others. Fortune 500 senior executives judge projects and presentation skills, basing their decisions on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.

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Alma College students report a level of interaction with faculty that ranks among the top 5 percent in the nation, according to the results of the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

 

Student Profile

Elizabeth Heitsch

Elizabeth Heitsch
Graduation: 2008
Major: History
From: St. Louis, Michigan
Interests: Reading, Music

You do not have to know a foreign language to study internationally, but for the languages offered at Alma there are six sites to hone your language skills. Alma has partnered with universities across the globe to provide students and faculty with the best in study and research opportunities abroad in 12 countries.