UPT SIFE TEAM COMPETES AT NATIONAL

FREE ENTERPRISE COMPETITION

 TITUSVILLE, June 19  – A group of University of Pittsburgh at Titusville students recently participated in the 2003 SIFE USA National Exposition, hosted by the Kansas City Business Community in Missouri.

The UPT SIFE Team was one of 15 finalists in the United States for the Polsky Financial Independence Award for their “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” project and received a check for $500.

Team members included Missy Powell (Lucinda), Joe Gustafson (Titusville), April Lewis (Warren), Tyler Karns (Franklin), Choeum Chhouy (Philadelphia), Dave Guan (Philadelphia), Eric Hasbrouck (Townville) and Debbie Smith (Hydetown).

The Team competed against more than 186 teams representing nearly 2,500 students from around the country.  In March of this year the UPT SIFE Team was named Regional Champion at the Cleveland, Ohio, SIFE Regional Competition.

During national competition, SIFE Teams present 24-minute multi-media summaries of educational outreach projects that they developed and implemented throughout the year.  They were judged by panels drawn from more than 200 of the nation’s top business and community leaders.  The SIFE USA National Champion in the 4-year division will compete at SIFE World Cup 2003 in Frankfurt, Germany, October 12-14.

In addition to competition, students had the opportunity to interview for jobs and internships during a two-day Career Opportunity Fair with representatives from more than 40 companies.  The keynote speaker at the National Exposition was Bernard Marcus, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of The Home Depot, Inc.

Melanie O. Anderson, Assistant Professor of Business, served as SIFE Team advisor and was named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow in recognition of her leadership and support of the SIFE program at UPT.    

“The national competition provides many opportunities for our students to network with potential employers, as well as to improve their own presentation skills and develop new ideas for future projects. We are the only Pitt campus with a SIFE Team and are excited our team had the opportunity to attend the national competition for the second year in a row,” says Anderson.

SIFE is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with business and higher education to provide students with the opportunity to make a difference and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.

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