April 30, 2007

Abilene Christian University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team won the regional championship in League 3 of the SIFE United States Regional Competition April 4 in Dallas. Ten students on the ACU team competed against teams from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas colleges and universities.

SIFE is an international collegiate free enterprise organization that works in partnership with business and higher education to establish student teams led by faculty advisors. The teams develop community outreach projects in the topics of market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and business ethics.

“Through SIFE, participants learned about the free enterprise system and how to work together,” said Dr. Phil Vardiman, associate professor of management sciences. “There is a focus on helping others learn valuable skills and ethical decision making.”

For the competition, the ACU SIFE team presented an annual report on projects the team organized to teach free enterprise education in the Abilene area and in the country of Romania. 

The team’s projects involved sending SIFE students to Romania to work with children by teaching financial literacy and ethics.  A local project involved working with 80 fifth graders in a project titled “Enterprise City,” where students operated several businesses and learned the importance of handling money and making financial transactions.

The SIFE team included:

• Delaina Parker, junior management major from Phoenix, Ariz.;
• Emilee Schwanke, sophomore accounting major from Arlington, Texas;
• Jessica Sneed, junior marketing and management major from Keller, Texas;
• Cynthia Michaud, sophomore youth ministry and children’s ministry major from Abilene, Texas;
• Darrien Grays, sophomore management major from Westbury, N.Y.;
• Blair Delaughter, junior accounting major from Alpharetta, Ga.;
• Corino Cortez, junior management and accounting major from San Antonio, Texas;
• Tyler Cosgrove senior management and finance major from Amarillo, Texas;
• Shingi Manwiro, senior accounting and finance major from Zimbabwe; and
• Kevan Kirksey, junior accounting and finance major from Tyler, Texas.

The Dallas competition was one of 17 regional competitions held across the United States this spring.  The ACU team advanced to compete in the national competition held in Dallas in May.