competition in Denver, are, standing, Danny Schmitz,
senior in entrepreneurship, and Jason Iuen ‘06, finance;
seated, Katie Beck, sophomore in entrepreneurship,
Kathy Wiebe, Sam Walton Fellow advisor, Lily Wu, senior
in international business and integrated marketing
communications, and Idia Tokunboh, junior in chemistry
business.
Wichita State’s Students in Free Enterprise Team became a regional champ by winning four of six criteria awards in regional competition in Denver, Colo., on March 29.
The win qualified WSU’s team to vie for national honors May 21-23 in Kansas City, Mo., where the group competed against other SIFE teams from some 120 of the nation’s best colleges and universities.
SIFE, an international non-profit association present on more than 1,800 university campuses in some 40 countries, strives to develop economic opportunities by organizing community outreach projects.
The projects are then judged on creativity, innovation and effectiveness at regional and national competitions.
Lily Wu, president of the WSU chapter of SIFE, says, “We are judged on six criteria: market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, ethics and sustainability.”
During the 2005-06 school year, WSU’s team organized 15 projects in and around Wichita, one of which was teaching entrepreneurship and financial management skills to students at Alcott Academy Middle School.
The middle-school project required team members to teach a seven-week course highlighting material that covered such business topics as “characteristics of an entrepreneur,” how to write business plans and to apply for loans, as well as how to determine profit margins. Team members also taught lessons on how to buy and sell stocks and enrolled Alcott students in a statewide stock-market competition.
In addition to its regional championship and based on the strength of its year-long community outreach projects, WSU’s team was also named as a finalist in the SIFE USA Discover Financial Services success skills competition, the SIFE USA Sam’s Club entrepreneurship competition, the SIFE USA HSBC financial literacy competition and the SIFE USA Campbell’s/Sealed Air business ethics competition.
“We’re extremely proud of the accomplishments of this year’s SIFE USA team,” says Don Grant, chairman of the SIFE WSU business advisory board. “Their projects will help future generations of business leaders and employees understand our free enterprise system and how to more successfully navigate the business environment.”
Wu reports that the 2005-06 year was a rebuilding year for the team. “We were left with about five members at the end of May 2005 and have grown the team to its current 30 members.” The team will start the 2006-2007 school year strong as all members of the presentation team return except one. Jason Iuen ’06 will be teaching for Teach for America in south Texas when school starts in the fall.
“We did well this year,” Wu reports, “but we’re prepared for great things next year.”
