Southwest Baptist
University News Release
Contact:
Charlotte Marsch, Director of Marketing and Communications
(417)
328-1803 / cmarsch@sbuniv.edu
SBU Enactus wins
regional competition
By Lauren Mitchell
Vice President of
Projects for SBU Enactus
BOLIVAR, Mo. — Southwest Baptist University’s
Enactus Team (formerly known as SIFE) won the Regional Competition in Chicago April
12, securing a spot for the National Competition in Kansas City in May.
Hopping
on a bus for an eight-hour drive, 25 students from the 37-member Enactus team traveled
to Chicago where they competed against multiple universities in their league.
“SBU Enactus performed exceptionally
well at regionals,” SBU Enactus adviser Angie Wright said. “I saw five other
teams present at regionals. Our team presented first, and I didn't see any
other team come close to reaching the high bar SBU Enactus set.”
Many
of the members on the Enactus team this year were freshmen who were competing
for the first time.
“I expected to win regionals, but at the
same time, it was such a rush to hear our name called,” freshman Enactus member
Tori Jones said. “Competition was a great environment of students and
businesspeople all striving for the same goal.”
Four speakers, who were chosen earlier
in the semester, represented the SBU Enactus team at regional competition: Seniors
Aaron Meusborn and Trevor Parrish, junior Meg Goodman and freshman Tori Jones. Meusborn,
Parrish and Goodman also served on the SBU Enactus officer team this year.
“As an officer and a speaker, you really
feel a lot of pressure to do well when we compete,” said Parrish, SBU Enactus president.
“As an officer you feel responsible for the content in the presentation, and as
a speaker you feel responsible for how well it's presented. Being able to carry
on SBU's legacy for most regional competition wins was a huge accomplishment
for our team.”
The
SBU team won the Regional Competition for the 29th time in 30 years.
These four students memorized a
17-minute speech covering three of the SBU Enactus team’s projects. Two of
these projects were local businesses in the community of Bolivar, The Bean 3:16
and TMB Recycling. The last project was an international project in Zambia the
team began this year.
“We were able to create a business that
the orphanage could operate to produce a more sustainable source of revenue,” Meusborn
said. “We cut their costs by switching power sources from expensive diesel fuel
to inexpensive electricity, and we helped them create a self-sufficient environment
that allows the orphanage to fully provide for their children, rarely having to
leave the compound.”
Maxie Walker, Meusborn and Nathan Church
traveled to Zambia to work with the New Day Orphanage during the Winterfest
term in January.
“It was amazing to help such a loving
and compassionate people group,” Meusborn said. “As soon as our team arrived at
the orphanage, the local Zambians immediately made us feel loved. Once it was
time to leave, only a week later, it felt like we were leaving our own family.”
The success of the SBU Enactus team and its
Regional Competition win has been a team effort and the result of strong
leadership.
“SBU Enactus has done an amazing job,
and the results are a testament to the Enactus officer leadership,” said Dr.
Troy Bethards, associate professor of business administration and academic
adviser to the SBU Enactus team. “The officer team this year was the first
officer team to take a long-term approach to setting the team up for future
success.”
The team is expecting stiffer
competition when competing for the title of National Champion next month.
“Nationals is an entirely different ball
game,” Goodman said. “The majority of teams that advance are competitive and
have a history of success. That being said, our team has been nationally ranked
the past two years (top 40 in 2011, top 60 in 2012), and I expect nothing less
for this year. As an officer team, we would be thrilled to make top 20 this
year. I think that is definitely attainable and would be an accurate reflection
of our team's successes for this Enactus year.”
For more information about SBU Enactus,
contact Angie Wright at (417) 328-1754 or awright@sbuniv.edu.
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Southwest
Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating
Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at
an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic
community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For
more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
