The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Students in Free Enterprises (SIFE) took the first place prize at the Regional SIFE Competition held in Denver, Colorado on Monday, March 31 (one of 16 competitions held across the U.S.).

Front Row: Katie Scheiding, History; Erin Sullivan, Communications; Tara Nigh, Entrepreneurship; Laura Medina, Pre-law/emphasis in Criminal Justice

Row 2: Abdul Wahab Zafar, pre-medicine/emphasis in biology; Chi Oguejiofor, Accounting; Johnny Weathersby III, Entrepreneurship; Kay Desvilles, Marketing; Gerardo Sanchez, Finance

Row 3: Cary Clark, team advisor/Sam Walton Fellow; Jason Patterson, Mechanical Engineering

Ten of the 24 total SIFE team members, lead by SIFE president Johnnie Weathersby III and Sam Walton Fellow Cary Clark, attended the competition.

The team presented six projects completed over the year that had an economic impact on the surrounding community. Each project had to meet a specific criteria set by SIFE, including market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business ethics, or sustainability.

The competing projects included:

• ACE'D, which taught students with disabilities key points of market economics;
•  Helping Hand, which taught success skills to those individuals seeking a job in a professional field.;
• Cristo Rey, in which they assisted Cristo Rey High School students in streamlining their clothes closet donation process;
• Cocoa Bowl, which introduced college students to the world of entrepreneurship;
• A Day in the Life, which taught important financial skills to area high school students;
• Ethics Seminar, which reviewed the importance of business ethics.

The presentation was followed by a challenging question and answer session from a panel of 18 managers and corporate executives from various companies across the United States. Approximately 30 colleges attended this regional competition.

“The UMKC SIFE team truly has an entrepreneurial spirit,” says Cary Clark, team advisor and Sam Walton fellow. “Our team consists of creative minds from across all disciplines, including accounting, dentistry, engineering, psychology, medicine, communications, chemistry, pre-law, entrepreneurship, management, finance, and human resources.”

 With the regional win, the SIFE team will now advance to the SIFE National Competition in Chicago, Ill., May 13-15. If the team wins the National Competition, they will then compete at the World Cup in Singapore.

SIFE is a global nonprofit organization active in more than 40 countries. Their primary goal is to create economic opportunities for others through education. For more information please visit umkcsife.com, sife.org.