SIFE Offers Opportunity for Service Learning, Leadership and Career Development

The Penn College Students In Free Enterprise Team is launching its fifth year on campus with an enthusiastic team that plans to get involved, make a difference and win at competition. Penn College SIFE recruits a diverse group of students from all majors.

As a team, they take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations in the Williamsport community and beyond through projects that teach the principles of free enterprise.

A project last semester touched the lives of small-business owners of Hawaiian Snow by updating their operations into the 21st century, expanding their customer base and helped to increase their profits.

This year's SIFE Team is planning new projects and continuing past projects in preparation for regional competition this spring. At competition, the team is judged on how well team members taught others entrepreneurship, business ethics, market economics, and personal and financial success skills. Regional SIFE champions will advance to the national competition at the 2005 SIFE USA National Exposition hosted by the Kansas City Business Community in Kansas City, Mo. Last year, the Penn College SIFE team were second runners-up in the overall competition and finalists in the Entrepreneurship event.

Career fairs, exclusive to SIFE students, accompany the Regional SIFE Competitions and 2005 SIFE USA National Exposition. Some companies represented at these fairs include 3M, Campbell's, Best Buy, Aflac, Wells Fargo, Walgreens and many more. Founded in 1975 and active on more than 1,700 college and university campuses in 42 countries and territories, SIFE is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with business and higher education to provide college students the opportunity to make a difference and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.

For more information, attend the weekly meetings held every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in ATHS, Room E216 , or visit online.