OU SIFE earned first runner-up in their league at the national competition May 20-23, after winning the regional competition in April.

The members of the OU organization Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) drove 12 hours in a van to Kansas City, Mo. for the SIFE USA National Exposition and Career Opportunity Fair May 20-23. Competing against schools from all over the country, OU SIFE earned first runner-up in their league for their projects and programs to teach local middle and high school students about global trade, business skills and the value of an education. The team earned the trip to the national competition after winning the regional competition in March.

“Overall the team did an awesome job,” said Jitesh Singh, senior, management information systems and president of SIFE. “The team accomplished a lot in the past year and put everything they had into this competition.”

SIFE’s overall goal is to change something within the greater community to better the area. Each of the 1,400 college teams in 40 countries focuses its efforts in different areas and OU’s SIFE team has chosen to work with children from economically disadvantaged areas to give them the opportunity to succeed. Working with students from Pontiac, Detroit, Ferndale and Oak Park schools, SIFE teaches students about business and education, hoping to help them continue on to a successful life.

At the competition, OU SIFE’s presentation team, which is composed of five members from its executive board, presented a 24-minute presentation on the programs they have created and managed. They answered questions from the judges, who are executives from major companies.

The team’s placement in the national competition earned them $1,000, which will be used to fund more SIFE programs in the future.

Aside from the competition, the 15 SIFE team members who made the trip were able to participate in forums, career fairs and other networking events throughout the week. According to Singh, spending the time together, especially the 12 hours in the van, was also a team-building experience.

“We only had two people with us that had competed at the national competition in the past,” said Singh. “Now the students involved in SIFE have more experience that they can carry with them in the future.”

In 2004, SIFE was the first runner-up in the semi-final round of the national competition, the team’s best finish to date.

SIFE continues its projects over the summer, including the Entrepreneurship Summer Camp, which provides hands-on experience in business and college life to promising high school students who live on campus for a week while exploring their interests in starting a business.

For more information about SIFE, call (248) 370-4166 or e-mail entrep@oakland.edu.