By Genoa Sibold-Cohn
Velocity Contributor
A group of Masters of Business Administration candidates at City University of Seattle’s Bellevue campus are applying free enterprise principles and encouraging the community and world to become more environmentally conscious.
These 25 graduate students are members of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) — a global, non-profit organization for students to practice free enterprise using leadership, teamwork and communication skills to improve the standard of living for millions globally. SIFE has more than 1,600 university campuses in 40 countries.
CityU SIFE Team Director George Kelley (third from the right) meets with students earlier this year.
The CityU of Seattle SIFE team is working this year on four different projects to be presented at the March 23 SIFE Regional Competition at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue.
The projects reflect an emphasis on environmental stewardship, sustainability and environmental awareness, says George Kelley, CityU SIFE Team director and Sam Walton Fellow.
The SIFE competitions are held worldwide and teams are judged on how innovative, creative and effective they are teaching free market principles, such as the global economy, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills and business ethics.
CityU has a history of excellence at these regional competitions, particularly in 2006 when the CityU SIFE Team from Seattle was the overall league champion. The group won first place in five of six SIFE categories and earned a $4,000 prize.
Students must demonstrate projects will thrive off campus and positively impact the community. Kelley sees SIFE and its projects as the “face of CityU to the world” or global ambassadors.
Ongoing projects include the Indonesian Environmental Awareness project to develop relevant curriculum for elementary school teachers in Indonesia; the Green CityU project to encourage university conservation and recycling programs; the Language Exchange Program to inspire and promote culture appreciation; and the Immigrant Environmental Awareness Program (IEAP) to teach new Puget Sound immigrants environmental awareness and stewardship.
Hendy Margono, CityU SIFE Team president, is encouraged by the prospect of their contributions to the campus, surrounding community and world. Margono, an Indonesia native and Green CityU project member, hopes international students learn and adopt greener habits on-campus and take them to their home country.
“I personally hope that this program can be rolled out in Indonesia and help the country to minimize/prevent disasters such as floods and mudslides,” Margono says.
The educational benefits to SIFE members also provide necessary skills to MBA candidates.
SIFE team member Dave Kleiber values the program’s real world experience, such as problem solving, decision making, project planning and team work.
Members also may use their SIFE project as a practicum and receive credit as part of the MBA program, says Kleiber, a Finance Manager in Seaport Environmental Programs at the Port of Seattle.
For Meng-Chung Han, SIFE provides an opportunity to use business skills she’s acquired in a practical way. As an international student, Han cannot work off-campus so she joined SIFE as the team secretary to gain experience and help the community.
The benefits to SIFE members are educational but also life changing too.
Oyun Rentsen, CityU SIFE team marketing coordinator, enjoys the personal changes and development that students receive through participation.
“Moreover, it is also a great networking opportunity which, itself, is something so significant in each of our lives,” Rentsen says. “Through this networking, for instance, we could exchange our knowledge and experience with others; be recognized among our peers, colleagues and professionals; and develop life-long friendships, which, who knows, could even lead to future business partnerships as the world is becoming, more so, one big nation.”
In all, SIFE team students receive academic credit, business experience, networking time with faculty and business leaders and friendships with students around the world, Kelley says.
CityU students who are interested in joining the SIFE team can contact Kelley at ggkelley@cityu.edu or Margono at hendy@cityu.edu.