The Carnegie Mellon Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team returned to Pittsburgh as winners after participating in the SIFE Regional Competition in Cincinnati in early April. The event was one of 17 SIFE USA Regional Competitions being held across the United States this spring.
After presenting a report of their year-long community outreach projects to a panel of business leaders, the Carnegie Mellon team was named a SIFE USA Regional Champion in the overall competition and a finalist in the SIFE USA Aflac Market Economics Competition, the SIFE USA Discover Financial Services Success Skills Competition, the SIFE USA HSBC Financial Literacy Competition, the SIFE USA Campbell's/Sealed Air Business Ethics Competition, and the SIFE USA GE Consumer Products Program Sustainability Competition.
"We are very pleased with our performance at the Regional Competition. We have worked hard to make an impact in the Pittsburgh community and around the world. We are very happy to be recognized for the outstanding effort from our team this year and are proud to be a part of the SIFE community," said team member Angelica Salame.
SIFE is an international non-profit organization present at more than 1,800 university campuses around the world. SIFE teams in more than 40 countries create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that teach market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills and business ethics. Their projects are judged at competitions on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.
During the academic year, the Carnegie Mellon SIFE team organized 11 projects in the Pittsburgh community and around the world, including the Personal Finance Project, which teaches high school students in the Pittsburgh area the basics about finances. They teach them everything from how to write a check, to principles of investing and taxes. Another team effort, The YWCA Entrepreneurship Project reaches out to underprivileged women and provides them with an opportunity to start their own businesses, through a partnership with the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh.
"The goal of the YWCA Enterprising Women Program is to help women start their businesses and to see their ideas become a reality. We get personal with the women by providing them with the practical experience that they need to achieve this goal," said team member Joy Ho.
