The students of BYU–Hawaii's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team brought the Spirit of Aloha to the City of Brotherly Love for this year's SIFE National Exposition, and walked away with a top 12 finish and a check for $1,500.
SIFE, a global non-profit organization that is active in over 40 countries, is funded by various contributors. SIFE's mission is to develop community outreach projects that reach five main educational topics: Market Economics, Success Skills, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, Business Ethics, and Environmental Sustainability. (BYU–HawaiiSIFE Home page;About SIFE; Mission, Vision and Goals)
The BYU–Hawaii group competed against 120 teams from other U.S. universities and was recognized as the competition's underdog story. "We were the underdogs of Nationals," said Michael Crowe, recent graduate in international business management from Metamora, Ill. "I don't think anyone in that building but us expected us to get as far as we did. We were the ‘Cinderella' team and when we advanced it was just the most amazing feeling to see so many people root for us to win."
A BYU–Hawaii team—this year made up of 22 students and 12 other BYU–Hawaii advisors and consultants—has competed at the National Exposition for the last 12 years, but this is the highest placement the school has ever achieved. The students who attended shared experiences that made them feel that, after an accomplishment like this, anything is possible.
Isabel Sakaja, senior in international business management from Nairobi, Kenya was very happy with the underdog finish as well. "Personally I think it goes to show that even with the limited resources that we have, we are able to do so much in changing the lives of the people we help and ours too," she said. "It's the motto of the school— "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve"—all over again. We are learning to serve using the education we receive. Some of the schools we beat in the competition had endowments for their teams of $400,000 and more. We have always come out at top 40, but now I guess we feel that next year we can advance to the top 4."
Most of the students who went to the conference believed it was their wide variety and success of their projects that helped them secure the win. At the exposition, the BYU–Hawaii SIFE team presented their 19 ongoing projects—eight new and eleven legacy projects, which have been ongoing anywhere from two to ten years.
The team (pictured below) advanced to the semi-finals on May 11 after their first presentation. Then on May 12, after a second round of presentations, the BYU–Hawaii team was awarded second runner-up, which meant they would not be advancing to the finals.
Of their top 12 finish, Crowe added, "This was the first time that BYU–Hawaii had advanced past the opening round and just being there as a member looking back on all the projects we worked hard on over the year, it made all the stress and sleepless nights worth it and it brought our team so much closer together. I think it was significant because it validated the worth of our projects and our capacity as an organization to stand amongst the other Universities on a much higher level, with much higher standards."
The expo also provided students with the opportunity to network and meet with the CEOs of more than 50 corporations during a career fair. "There was an awesome career fair in Philadelphia which I had the opportunity to make great contacts with, companies such as KPMG, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Hershey's and many others," said Nicholas Narayan, junior in accounting and international business management from Kailua, Hawaii.
One of the favored projects involves Jon Mozo, a local photographer who passed away several years ago during a surfing accident at the famous Pipeline. After graduating from BYU–Hawaii, Mozo and his wife, Nikki, started a photography business. After Jon's passing, Nikki struggled with raising four children and running Jon's business. BYU–Hawaii SIFE stepped in to help Nikki organize and record her inventory, and have helped her build a business plan to ensure success in the future.
"I'm so grateful for the help and service of the SIFE kids," said Nikki Mozo. "They have really been a lifesaver to my husband's business and my family. I didn't know what to do with the business, since that was mainly what Jon did. SIFE has become my support and my backup."
About the Mozo project, Crowe said, "This was the project that was near and dear to my heart from Day 1 as a SIFE member. Of all the projects we were engaged in throughout the year, I personally felt that this project was the most promising and had the most potential to be something much bigger than what it was. There was a period of time when nothing ever moved forward with the project when the Project Director moved on to Graduate School, which to me was disappointing."
"But, as we pulled together as a team to help Nikki, just prior to Regionals, she had the opportunity to meet with one of the SIFE Executives with hopes that Jon's story would be presented at SIFE Headquarters. After our last presentation at Nationals, a top executive from American Greetings approached one of our team representatives with a deep interest to make Jon's work a part of their greeting cards. This was huge accomplishment for not only our SIFE Team, but for Nikki. For me, this truly was the ‘icing on the cake' and it's what SIFE is all about."
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