Edgewood College Business Team Advances to National Finals

Madison, Wis. (April 15, 2005) – After winning at the Chicago regional Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition on April 11, a team of Edgewood College students will now compete for the national championship in Kansas City on May 22-24.

Teams were judged on how well their community projects taught the principles of free enterprise. Edgewood College won league co-championship with the University of Iowa.

Edgewood College president Daniel Carey said, “This is a major achievement in only our second year in SIFE. Congratulations to all students involved. I wish them the very best in the national competition.”

Edgewood College’s SIFE team reached out to the Madison community in several ways. For example, team members developed manuals about community service and recycling for the Dane County Boys & Girls Club. They also performed consulting projects for local small businesses.

The team’s president is Matt VanZelst, a returning member from Edgewood College’s first SIFE team, which won Rookie of the Year honors in 2004. He said, “With more core members this year, the team is more diverse and has invested longer hours in the different projects. We are preparing for nationals by adding more projects and working with the Chicago Board of Trade.”

“Whether or not we win at nationals,” said VanZelst, a senior in Business from Brookfield, Wis., “we know our projects have benefited Madison and Wisconsin. Plus this is a great learning experience for Edgewood College’s SIFE team. With this year being the growth stage, next year’s SIFE team will be in the completion stage, with hopefully more members and another chance at the national championship.”

Business professor Denis Collins, who last year got Edgewood College students involved in SIFE, said, “This is an excellent way for a person to gain experience in leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.”

Team member Thomas Klein, a freshman from Hiawatha, Iowa, said of their presentation, “I was really nervous at first, but once we got the judges to laugh with an ice breaker, I felt much more confident.” He said, “SIFE is a very solid opportunity to land a job if you are a junior or senior.”

Team member Rebecca Miller from Janesville, Wis., said, “As a freshman I was glad to be part of this. I feel like I have more insight now into how to be a professional businesswoman. I would recommend anyone going into any business profession to get involved with SIFE. You really learn a lot.”

Other members of Edgewood College’s SIFE team include its vice president of marketing Neil Kennedy (senior in Business from Madison), and core members James Christenson (senior in Economics from Milwaukee), Steve Krueger (senior in Business from Suamico, Wis.), and June Schroeder (senior in Business from Cuba City, Wis.).

About Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)

Founded in 1975, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is active on more than 1,600 college and university campuses in 40 countries. SIFE encourages students to take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations, using their knowledge to better their communities through educational outreach. A non-profit organization, SIFE works in with business and high 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. Visit www.sife.org.

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About Edgewood College

Edgewood College is Madison’s only independent liberal arts college, a Catholic school with 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers more than 40 academic and professional programs, including master’s degrees in business, education, nursing, and other fields, and a doctoral program in education leadership. For more information about Edgewood College, visit www.edgewood.edu or call 800-444-4861.

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