The moment of truth came for the PVAMU Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team at its 2011 Regional Competition and Career Fair held on March 18 in Dallas, Texas. While other students were spending spring break on beaches or places everywhere, the team of 15 students, led by its president Devin Evans, reported on its yearlong activities and events before a panel of judges from corporate America. This year’s expo attracted some 900 students from 60 universities from Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee competing one of the 10 national spots.
After the league rounds of competition, the PVAM Team fell short and received 2nd place honors. The team was a bit disappointed but left with the intent that its time will come next year.
The team’s strategy this year was to educate the new members on leadership development. In order to get this accomplished the SIFE team participated in SIFE Regional Training in San Marcos, Texas and hosted two training sessions titled “Unleash your potential part 1 and part 2”. In these training sessions the members learned the proper procedures for implementing programs, and executing all duties to flourish as an outstanding SIFE Team. We implemented our officer shadowing program which paired old and new members. 47 Members participated with 16 of them have produced programs and projects. Members are encouraged to participate in leadership development programs and organizations such as Toastmasters, Douglass Leadership and Student Government.
The members take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations, using their knowledge to make life better in their communities by teaching the principles of free enterprise and entrepreneurship. The team touched the lives of many students and persons in the surrounding communities in 2010 with more than 40 programs and projects.
Some of its notable programs to address the social, economic and environmental criteria are its seminars on How to Start and Run a Business, the Business of Engineering, the Student Entrepreneur Expo, Collegiate Mom Program, Texas Fashion Week, the Campbell’s Let’s Can Hunger Project, Stock Market Simulator Financial Game, Campus Panther Pete Goes Green Recycling Project and the Papa Leo’s Restaurant project, funded by a grant from the National SIFE and the Sams Club Environmental Sustainability Challenge. The team also conducted the first in a series of High School Tours to introduce students to college and provide career development strategies.
The team’s partners include the American Marketing Association, Toastmasters International, Frederick Douglass Leadership and the National Association of Black Journalists. Its Campbell’s Soup “Let’s Can Hunger Project” runs through April 16 and area churches and organizations are asked to collect for the local food pantries and report their collections to David Brown, project chairman at 936-261-3574. The team will also host the 6th Annual Hip Hop Conference and Entertainment Business Career Fair on April 20-21. For information, contact Devin Evans, SIFE’s president at (936) 261-3579.
About SIFE
SIFE 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. By contributing their talents to projects that improve the lives of people worldwide, SIFE participants are demonstrating that individuals with a knowledge and passion for business can be a powerful force for change.
About Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University, the first state supported College in Texas for African Americans, was established during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. This was an historical period in which political and economic special interest groups were able to aggressively use the Federal Government to establish public policy, in an attempt to "alter or reshape the cultural milieu of the vanquished southern states". The University had its beginnings in the Texas Constitution of 1876, which, in separate articles, established an "Agricultural and Mechanical College" and pledged that "Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provisions shall be made for both." As a consequence of these constitutional provisions, the Fifteenth Legislature established "Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth" on August 14,1876.
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