Posted 04/17/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8380
UMC SIFE Students Take Regional Championship, Advance to International Competition
A team of University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) students involved in the campus Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Chapter took home championship honors at the SIFE Regional Competition in Minneapolis on April 12. The team will now advance to the international level competition held May 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Team
members include: (back, left to right) Mike Miller, UMC Management
Instructor and SIFE Coach; John Rozek of St. Paul, MN; Joas Petithomme of Miami,
FL; Matthew
Verhoog of Woodridge, MB, Canada; Shane Naslund of Lake Park, MN; Steve
Shirley, UMC Marketing Instructor and SIFE Adviser; (front row, left to
right) Paula Meyers of New
Richland, MN; Jeremy Busch of Alexandria, MN; Deborah Wosick of
Minto, ND; and Matthew Smith of Wheaton, MN.
(Click image for larger version)
Judges awarded the UMC team championship honors based on a 30-minute audio-video presentation. The students presented their annual report, a year-long program of educational and outreach activities. Their project list included developing an eight-page coloring book, geared toward grades 1-3, that describes basic business principles of how a market-based economy operates; presenting seminars to students at several high schools on how to set up and manage a checking account; and helping a local hospital conduct market research.
UMC’s team competed against other collegiate SIFE chapters from throughout the region including North Dakota State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
Steven Shirley, the team’s adviser and a marketing instructor at UMC, says, “This accomplishment is a true testament to all the students’ hard work and dedication throughout the year. This kind of recognition really underscores the quality of students in our program.” Management instructor Mike Miller, also actively involved with the UMC SIFE Chapter, adds, “It certainly is an honor to move on to international competition. It’s also a nice way for students to supplement their coursework in marketing and management here at UMC.”
SIFE is a nonprofit organization that gives students the tools to learn the free enterprise system in a real working situation. The organization consists of chapters on more than 700 college campuses worldwide.