UH West Oʻahu wins Students in Free Enterprise regional championship
Team to represent university at national competition in May
University of Hawaiʻi-West OʻahuContact:
Posted: Apr 19, 2010
UH West O'ahu SIFE team with Dr. Eun Ahn and Dr. Roland Stiller
A team of students from University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu will represent the university at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) national event after winning the regional competition April 12 on Oʻahu. The UH West Oʻahu team, comprised of business and finance students, competed against other area colleges before being selected this week as the 2010 USA SIFE Hawaiʻi Regional Champions, and will now head to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete at the nationals on May 11-13.
“I was really proud of our students because they worked really hard and gave of themselves to the community,” said Dr. Eun Ahn, associate professor of economics and finance at UH West Oʻahu. As part of the competition, students presented their service learning projects and successes to a panel of judges from throughout Hawaiʻi’s private sector business community. “Our students effectively and eloquently communicated their projects with corporate leaders,” added Ahn.
The following UH West Oʻahu students comprised the team that competed against Chaminade University, BYU-Hawaiʻi, Leeward Community College and Hawaiʻi Pacific University:
Joseph A. Cereneche (**)
Jonathan N. Chong
Juan M. Gutierrez (**)
Tyrell S. Maae (**)
Megan M. Nunez
Treena L. Paisley
Joseph C. Porter (**)
Sara M. Valdez (**)
(** Students who will represent the university at the national competition in May.)
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a worldwide organization that brings together a diverse network of university students, academic professionals and industry leaders around the shared mission of creating a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of business. SIFE teams contribute their talents to various projects that improve the lives of people worldwide. SIFE participants demonstrate that individuals with a knowledge and passion for business can be a powerful force for change.
The SIFE team at UH West Oʻahu has been dormant for the past five years until Ahn re-introduced the SIFE program using UH West Oʻahu’s FIN 496 class, an entrepreneurial service learning course where teams complete community service projects that fall under various business concepts of financial literacy, success skills, market economics and more.
About UH West Oʻahu
UH West Oʻahu became a four-year, comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. UH West Oʻahu held a ground blessing ceremony in January 2009 in anticipation of the start of construction for a state-of-the art, new campus in the City of Kapolei. For more information, visit http://www.uhwo.hawaii.edu, http://www.twitter.com/uhwestoahu, http://www.facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.