Text only

Return to IV Leader home page

SIFE team qualifies for nationals

May 6, 2004

    The Students in Free Enterprise team at Illinois Valley Community College was named regional champion for two-year colleges at the SIFE competition in Chicago recently. 
    The win qualifies the team to compete at the SIFE national competition in Kansas City, Kan., May 23-25, and netted the team $1,500.
    For the sixth consecutive year, the IVCC team was judged best at teaching the principles of free enterprise and making a difference in their communities.
    Team members are Maria Sondgeroth and Patti Erlenborn of Peru, Cindi Brennan of Marseilles, Aurora Hermosillo of Mendota, Valerie Rice of Ottawa, Trudy Miller of Princeton, Judy McComber of Tiskilwa, Judy Wood of Wyanet and Angie Balensiefen of Sheffield. Laurie Farraher of Ohio, Ill., will participate in the national competition but did not participate in regionals. 
    At the regional competition, the IVCC team presented a written report and a multimedia presentation on their outreach projects, which included:

• Death By Plastic, several activities to teach college students sound financial management and credit card dangers;
• Welcome To The Real World, a simulation to teach high school students about financial responsibilities;
• Cookies in a Jar, to help grade school students organize and run a business;
• Stock Market Game, to teach grade school students to research companies and understand the stock market;
• Beyond Solitaire, an introduction to the cyber world for senior citizens. 

    The team spent approximately 800 hours in 13 projects that reached more than 70,000 people this year.
    “I’m tremendously proud of our SIFE team and all they have accomplished this year,” said team adviser Alice Steljes. “We are all looking forward to bringing home a trophy from the competition in Kansas City.”
    Steljes, an IVCC business instructor, was named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow at the regional meeting in recognition of her leadership and support of the program.
    SIFE is a nonprofit organization active on more than 1,600 college campuses in 40 countries. SIFE works in partnership with business and higher education to provide students the opportunity to make a difference and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.