April 25, 2013

COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu

WTAMU’s Enactus Team Qualifies for Nationals after Regional Championship

SIFE team takes new name, continues winning tradition

CANYON, Texas—West Texas A&M University’s Enactus, formerly known as SIFE or Students in Free Enterprise, will advance to national competition after winning a regional championship April 10 at Dallas. The win marks the team’s 19th consecutive regional championship.

SIFE has been a student organization in WTAMU’s College of Business since 1994. The WTAMU team is one of more than 1,600 teams on college campuses in 37 countries around the world. Jean Walker, Miller Professor of Entrepreneurship, has been the organization’s adviser since its 1994 founding on the WTAMU campus.

As the organization has grown worldwide and focused on the empowering force of entrepreneurship to change the world, the name change from Students in Free Enterprise to Enactus embodies that spirit of entrepreneurial action. The free enterprise mission is the same, but the name has been changed.

“The name change has been difficult for those of us, particularly alumni, who have been such an important part of the WT SIFE tradition, but it truly is a change in name only,” Walker said. “The traditions of SIFE will carry on into Enactus.”

The Enactus team will showcase its projects in a multimedia presentation for judges at the Enactus USA National Competition May 21-23 in Kansas City, Mo. Speakers on the presentation team include Emilee Cavaness, Justin Lawlis, Laura Beth Hallman, Juan Ramirez, Blake Boone, Manuel Garcia, Angelica Pallares, and Mary Dittfurth.

Enactus team members representing WTAMU at Regional Competition are listed by hometown and major.
Amarillo
John Baker, economics major
Emilee Cavaness, accounting major
Mary Dittfurth, management major
Adriana Gallegos, accounting major
Manuel Garcia, finance major
Justin Lawlis, computer information systems major
Ignacio Mares, psychology major
Angelica Pallares, graduate student in accounting
Ryan Pinkert, economics major
Ana Ramirez, MBA student
Juan Ramirez, engineering major
Luis Rodriguez, management major
Bethany Wilcox, entrepreneurship major
Nathan Woodard, computer information systems major
Childress
Cecelia Dominguez, management major
Cleburne
Laura Beth Hallman, graduate student in finance and economics
Clovis, N.M.
Sarah Sabins, management major
Dimmitt
Cynthia Prieto, management major
Indonesia
Randi Ferdian, computer information systems major
Karaganda, Kazakhstan
Vitaliy Skorodziyevskiy, international business major
Los Angeles, Calif.
Juan Vargas, finance major
Lubbock
Brittany Smith, general business major
Montgomery, Ala.
Dayren Tolliver, finance major
Pampa
Noemi Salazar, finance major
Plainview
Chance Autry, business education major
Philadelphia, Pa.
Dana Versmessen, international business major
Vernon
Blake Boone, communication studies major
Vietnam
Tam Dao, accounting major
Kristen Le, mass communication major
Steve Le, accounting major
Nhan Tran, MBA student
Wellington
Rudy Cantu, management major
Greg Moreno, accounting major
Wheeler
Elizabeth Castillo, accounting major
Wray, Colo.
Ashley Peterson, finance major
Wylie
Caity Kenny,  international business major
 

—WTAMU—