SIFE team captures second regional champion title

York College’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team was named a champion at the SIFE Regional Competition in Philadelphia for the second consecutive year. They will now represent the region at the 2010 SIFE National Exposition, held from May 11-13 in Minneapolis.

SIFE teams create economic opportunity in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business ethics and environmental sustainability. At competitions, teams present their projects to a panel of business leaders and compete to see which had the most impact improving the quality of life and standard of living for members of its community. Projects and presentation skills are judged by business executives who base their decisions on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.

York College’s SIFE team presented on a variety of projects they organize, including York College in the City, which takes new students on an interactive walking tour of downtown York; Enterprise in El Salvador, which includes a program to prevent young adults in El Salvador from joining gangs and to eliminate delinquency; Entrepreneurship York, a mentoring program for high-school students creating their own business plan; and N.R.G., a project that educates the York College campus about conserving energy.

Members of the SIFE presentation team are (pictured, from left to right) Jonathan Velez, junior accounting major from Woodbridge, N.J.; Tim Boldurian, senior marketing major from Audubon, N.J.; Hannah Krug, senior marketing and Spanish major from Parkton, Md.; Nicole Smolenski, senior finance major from Bel Air, Md.; Kristina Bornholdt, senior business administration major from West Islip, N.Y.; and Thomas Kentouris, senior business administration major from Belle Harbor, N.Y. Technical team members include SIFE president Chet Kresge, senior marketing major from Mountville; Kristin Eader, senior management major from Jarrettsville, Md.; Michael Foster, senior sport management and finance major from Harrisburg; and Michael Crane, senior accounting major from South Richmond Hill, N.Y.