Several University of Central Arkansas students have taken what they?ve learned in the classroom and used that knowledge to better the community, and they?ve also received some awards for their service-oriented projects.UCA students involved in a local chapter of the business organization Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) participated in a regional competition for their organization earlier this month in Memphis, and brought home the top prize. In May, the students will compete in the national SIFE competition in Kansas City.
?I was very pleased with the students? success,? said Dr. Armand Picou, associate professor of finance and the group?s faculty advisor. This was the first time UCA?s SIFE Chapter had earned 1st place in the regional competition.
UCA students entered projects in all four categories of the competition: entrepreneurship, business ethics, free market economics and personal financial success skills. UCA received awards in two of the categories ? entrepreneurship and personal financial success skills ? and was named overall champion.
Lisa Johnson?s project titled ?Bethlehem House? earned first place in the entrepreneurship category.
When Johnson, a sophomore from Little Rock, learned that many of the items donated to a local homeless shelter were being ruined by outside conditions before they could be distributed due to a lack of storage space, she came up with an idea to help.
Johnson assisted the Bethlehem House in organizing a monthly yard sale to sell or give away donated items before they are ruined. Donated items that were once stored under a carport until they were given to those less fortunate are now sold or given away at the yard sales.
The yard sales provides a way for donated items to be displayed so those being helped by the shelter can find what they need more easily. Other members of the community are also invited to the yard sale where they may purchase some of the surplus donated items, and find out more about the organization they are helping.
Johnson has helped organize five yard sales since last fall, resulting in $1,400 for the charity. That money has been used to subsidize the costs of running the Bethlehem House.
While Johnson gets credit for leading the ?Bethlehem Project,? she credits other members of SIFE their work on the project. ?It really was a team effort,? she said.
Another student project that won in the personal financial success skills category was
Ryan Noel?s ?Personal Financial Planning.? SIFE co-sponsored a campus visit by MET Life. The company visited with faculty about financial management options.
Other projects were entered in the competition by UCA SIFE members including SIFE President Shana Hayes? project ?Music Biz Raw.?
Hayes project involved creating a Web site that served as an informational resource for individuals starting out in the music business.
Hayes, a sophomore from Jefferson, Ark., came up with the idea based on her own experiences as a musician. ?The idea is to turn artists into entrepreneurs by giving them marketing info, sample contracts, financial management info and examples of studio guidelines so they will be prepared for the music industry,? she said.
Other UCA SIFE members who participated in the regional competition were: Twanda Harris, Lee Hubbard, Michael Gitau, and Tony Lin.
Picou said the group was appreciateive of the support they received from UCA President Lu Hardin and the funding assistance that was provided by the UCA Student Government Association.
