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SIFE Project Places Third in National Competition

A hands-on business ethics game developed by a team of Alma College students placed third at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) National Competition May 13-15 in Chicago.

Alma’s SIFE Business Ethics project team developed and implemented the game — one of 15 projects completed by Alma SIFE this past academic year — to teach moral and ethical choices. The game and related curriculum were delivered during three on–site sessions to at-risk youth in the Saginaw Detention Center.

The SIFE team has been asked by the Department of Corrections to expand the project next year to include three additional sessions in juvenile department facilities, said Ron Lemmon, Alma SIFE faculty advisor.

The team also set up an interactive Web-based version of the game designed to teach students at universities in Western Europe about U.S. business ethics. More than 2,100 students, primarily in Germany, participated in the on-line ethics game.

The project team was led by Alma senior Don Easlick and Greenville sophomore Laura Kohn and supported by Alma sophomore Nina Beckman, Midland freshman Marcy Gilstad, Orchard Lake sophomore Brad Gray, Vestaburg sophomore Luke Grover, Haslett junior Dave Korte and Harbor Springs senior Kaitlin Logan.

Fifteen of the Alma SIFE team’s 78 total student members attended the SIFE National Competition in Chicago, said Lemmon.

“The SIFE Team did very well at the national competition,” said Lemmon. “Our team was judged ‘excellent’ in three of the six judged categories. Best of all was our national third place in the Business Ethics Competition.”

More than 140 college SIFE teams participated in the national competition, and more than 4,000 people attended the event, including leading business executives who judged the competition.

SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on more than 1,400 college and university campuses in 48 countries. SIFE teams create economic opportunity in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills, and business ethics.

At regional and national competitions, SIFE teams present the results of their educational outreach projects and compete to determine which team was most successful at creating economic opportunity for others. Projects and presentation skills are judged by business executives, who base their decisions on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.

The mission of Alma College SIFE is “to raise the standard of living in mid-Michigan by teaching the principles of free enterprise through a variety of educational outreach programs developed and implemented by dedicated Alma College students.”

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Alma College is one 240 institutions nationwide — and one of only four Michigan institutions — selected for inclusion in the Colleges of Distinction Guidebook, which profiles institutions that are consistently recognized for quality teaching, the kinds of experiences available to students, and how well students do after they graduate.

 

Student Profile

Melissa Carstens

Melissa Carstens
Graduation: 2008
Major: Education
From: Marquette, Michigan
Interests: Singing, Dancing

Alma’s off-campus study programs do more than place students in exciting locales to meet interesting people; they also create new opportunities for personal growth and skill development. One of the best ways to learn about other societies and cultures is to study and travel in international settings. You do not always have to know a foreign language.