New Mount Business Team Wins Grant and Gets Ready for Competition

The new Mount St. Mary’s Students in Free Enterprise—or “SIFE”—team is off and running with one of 50 national project grants sponsored by Goldman Sachs. Through SIFE, the largest student organization in the world, student teams develop learning opportunities in real-world projects focusing on market economics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and business ethics. They are evaluated on the success of their programs through SIFE competition at regional, national and global levels.

The Goldman Sachs project grant begins this February with Mount SIFE team vice president Katie Bushong attending a training day in Dallas, Texas, with other selected schools from the United States, Germany and China. Throughout the spring semester, Katie will be leading Project Y.E.S., Youth Entrepreneurial Success, an interactive program created to empower students ages 12-14 with the knowledge of market economics, entrepreneurial skills, business ethics and financial literacy. She and fellow project team members Abby Diffenderfer and Dave Sofield will be entering the Goldman Sachs competition in July 2007. 

The Mount’s SIFE team was launched by professor Sandra Sjoberg and Dr. Richard Brocato last semester. Currently, 10 students are developing three SIFE projects with the team goal of attending regional competition this semester. Team members include: Jack Lynch, president; Katie Bushong, vice president; Victoria Budosh, communications director; David Sofield, treasurer; Ryan Audy; Nicholas Buzaid; Jennifer Cooper; Abby Diffenderfer; Kyle Mooney; and Jordan Taylor.

SIFE is a partnership with businesses and higher education to prepare students for future leadership roles. Projects are a great way for students to integrate classroom teachings with practical application, and the many levels of competition provide outstanding networking opportunities with corporate business leaders.

Students are always welcome to join in a SIFE project and be part of the Mount’s SIFE