SBU SIFE Places in Top 32 in National Competition in Philadelphia
For Release: May 13, 2009
Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith
Mobile: 417-399-7918
E-mail: scsmith@sbuniv.edu
BOLIVAR, MO --Southwest Baptist University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team participated in the SIFE National Competition in Philadelphia, Pa. May 10-12. More than 144 teams participated in the national competition, and the SBU team was first runner-up in League 7, placing them among the top 32 teams in the nation. The team had been named Regional Champion at SIFE’s Denver regional convention March 16. This convention marks the SBU team’s 25th win in 26 years.
At Regionals the team also became one of 20 finalists in the country for their work in business ethics and program sustainability. Southwest Baptist competed against 10 colleges and universities from around the country including Wichita State University, University of Northern Colorado and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. “These successes brought in $3,500 for [SBU SIFE] which, in part, covered our expenses for Nationals in Philadelphia,” said senior Jillian Arnett, SIFE president.
Each year, SIFE teams around the nation are given the opportunity to present what they have accomplished in impacting their community in success skills, financial literacy, market economics, environmental sustainability, entrepreneurship, business ethics and program sustainability. Some of SBU’s projects include financial planning seminars, an “Extreme Energy Makeover” project and “Strut Your Stuff,” a marketing campaign program for high school students.
Southwest Baptist’s team delivered 20-24 minute presentations about the team’s year, which included descriptions of completed projects, video presentations and an annual report that detailed the project’s budget, description, target audience and the number of students responsible for completing the project.
“I am really proud of our team,” said Arnett. “Fifty percent of our team is made up of underclassmen, which meant that we had a lot of first timers going to regionals, but while we were there I had career fair recruiters coming up to me to tell me how great of a team we had, and asking who was looking for an internship or job. In today's market that is phenomenal! But what really makes me proud is the fact that I didn't have to go to the recruiters. They were coming to me. They were that impressed with our team. That didn't happen to any other teams that I saw.”
The team has also been approached by the Colorado State University- Pueblo SIFE team for assistance in developing their program sustainability.
For more information about SBU’s SIFE team, visit http://www.sbuniv.edu/SIFE.
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 12 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 13 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past two years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918. Visit the SBU Office of Marketing & Communications online at www.SBUniv.edu/news.
