Getting schooled on business

SIFE helping students to learn business early

By Danielle MacMurchy

After three years of minimal activity, the Fresno State Students In Free Enterprise are returning with their sights set on educating people about the principles of free enterprise. And all the while they’re looking for ways to positively impact the campus and community.

SIFE is a non-profit organization that gives students on more than 1,500 campuses around the globe the opportunity to make a difference while sharpening their communication, leadership and people skills.

For over 20 years, SIFE has been influencing lives worldwide. Fresno State SIFE President Windy Wilson, through a program at Butte College, worked with women recovering from drug addictions.

“ After working with them, we got letters back saying that they went out and got a full time job, and their lives were totally changed,” Wilson said. “That’s why I do SIFE; it’s not for me. I love seeing how it benefits people on campus and in the community.”

In 1999, students in Fresno State’s SIFE program created a game show-type learning tool called Bizgame and took it to local schools. It provided students with a fun way to learn about the principles of business. This year, Fresno State’s SIFE team will expand on the Bizgame project and make it available to students on the web.

In October, the organization’s focus was on ethics in business. Wilson believes ethics is a big issue in today’s business world, and he sees a need to educate people about it. To help spread the awareness of its importance, Fresno State hosted an ethics debate Thursday in the University Business Center. Four local high schools participated in the debate.

Although students in SIFE are developing programs to influence lives, they are also striving to win regional, national and global competitions. Each school is judged on how well the team teaches others entrepreneurship, business ethics, market economics and financial success skills.

The organization attracts students from all majors, each with a different reason to participate in the program.

Although each student devotes time and effort into the program to see lives changed, the students are also looking to enhance their own abilities for their future careers.

Fresno State SIFE Treasurer Robert Switzer said the program has allowed him to experience unique opportunities.

“ My involvement in the program will also give me an avenue for employment by one of the Fortune 500 companies,” Switzer said.

Members of the SIFE team say they have seen their communication and leadership skills vastly improve since their involvement in the program.

Junior Will Cantrell, a first-year member of SIFE, said he is hoping his participation in the program will help develop his self-confidence. He also said that each student can acquire as much from the program as he or she is motivated to acquire.

“ If you want to be in a program that is self-motivated and you want to see positive results in the community at large, this is the organization for you,” Cantrell said.