Smith's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team Wins Regional Competition

Twenty-six undergraduate business students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE-UMCP) organization, a newly recognized student organization on campus, recently earned the title of Regional Champion. "In just one semester, SIFE-UMCP has proven itself to be a tremendously focused and passionate team of students who have worked very effectively together to promote business learning and access to business education both in our community and on campus," says Patricia Cleveland, assistant dean of undergraduate studies at Smith.

SIFE, the global non-profit parent organization, held its Washington, D.C., regional competition at the Crystal City Marriott on Monday, March 29. Senior Carolina Lasso, president and spearhead of SIFE-UMCP, says that the purpose of these competitions is "to motivate students to complete projects and to show business leaders what SIFE teams are capable of doing."

The competition required student teams to produce an annual report of the semester's activities, as well as deliver a 30-minute audiovisual presentation to corporate executive judges. Judges represented top national and multinational companies, like Unilever, American Greetings, CVS, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, Office Depot, and Wells Fargo Financial. SIFE teams were judged on a number of criteria that evaluated how well each team grasped and applied the concepts of business in a free market economy, the challenges of entrepreneurship, business ethics, and social responsibility.

In addition to the competitive portion of the regional competition, students participated in a career fair with the abovementioned company sponsors. "In the career fair, many companies want to recruit SIFE members," says Lasso, who had participated in one other SIFE regional competition when she attended Montgomery College's honors program. The skills SIFE participants develop - "leadership, organizational skills, time management, partnering with other organizations, and coordinating activities" - appeal to these leading companies, she says.

Indeed, the skills SIFE participants have honed are valuable to running a sustainable enterprise. Team SIFE-UMCP balances the knowledge they gain in the Smith classroom with secondary research and hands-on experience. "In addition to helping other people, we're broadening our own knowledge, which helps in class as well," Lasso explains. The themes team members focus on in their classes motivate them to select the projects SIFE-UMCP undertakes. Some of last semester's projects included developing a marketing plan for a local tea shop, delivering a 20-week program that informs and assists local entrepreneurs with their businesses, and teaching high school students the importance of financial management and investment.

This spring, SIFE-UMCP plans to teach the employees of the dining services on campus how to become financially independent after retirement. They will also work to teach high school students basic investment and portfolio management concepts using Smith's top-notch Netcentricity Laboratory and facilities in Van Munching Hall, home of the Smith School. The team is expected to excel again in May at the SIFE National Competition in Kansas City, Missouri.

SIFE is a global non-profit organization that offers college and university students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise. For more information about the global SIFE organization, visit http://www.sife.org.

The SIFE team at the University of Maryland was established by a group of enthusiastic business major students with the support of Dr. Pat Cleveland, assistant dean of undergraduate studies. Currently, SIFE-UMCP is a Robert H. Smith School of Business recognized student organization and has a membership of about 30 students both from the College Park and Shady Grove campuses. SIFE-UMCP is dedicated to making a difference by teaching important concepts through educational outreach projects, including market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success, and business ethics to better ourselves, our neighboring communities, and partnering academic institutions.