News Releases

The University of Southern Maine SIFE Team Receives Recognition at Regional Competition

April 16, 2008

The University of Southern Maine SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) team returned to Portland as winners after participating in the Providence, R.I. SIFE USA Regional Competition earlier this month.  The event was one of 16 SIFE USA Regional Competitions being held across the United States in March and April.  

The team presented a report of their year-long community outreach projects to a panel of business leaders, which named them a SIFE USA Regional Champion. The team will now advance to the national level of SIFE competition, at the SIFE USA National Exposition May 13-15 in Chicago, Ill.

“The students made a fabulous presentation in Providence,” said USM Professor John Voyer, Sam Walton Fellow (faculty advisor) to the USM SIFE team.  “They did some great projects this year, and they told their story with passion and polish.  I was really proud of them.”

SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on more than 1,400 university campuses in 48 countries.  SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal finance, success skills, and business ethics. 

During this academic year, the University of Southern Maine SIFE team organized seven projects in the Greater Portland community, including the Long Creek project, where USM students taught and mentored juvenile detainees in job hunting, financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.

The USM SIFE Long Creek project has been growing and evolving over the course of four years and strives to have an enduring effect on the individuals at Long Creek. “This year, in addition to conducting interactive workshops, the SIFE team brought in local entrepreneurs to interact with the residents and share their experiences with entrepreneurship,” said project leader Michael Corson. “The SIFE team believes that by promoting the involvement of local business people, this project can have a significant effect on the community.”

For more information, contact John Voyer, 780-4597, or voyer@usm.maine.edu.

Go to
www.usm.maine.edu/mcr/news/0708releases/SIFERegionals.jpg to see a photo of USM’s SIFE team.

Photo Caption:
USM’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team was named a SIFE USA Regional Champion at the recent Providence, Rhode Island SIFE USA Regional Competition.  Team members are: Back row, left to right: Jason DeCampos of Hallowell; Mike Corson of Yarmouth; Timothy Pulsoni of Portland; Nevin Shawn Duffey of Yarmouth.  Front row, left to right: Heather Reed of Waterboro; Buddy Lalemand of Auburn; and Sara Willey of Windham.

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