BELLEVUE, WA. – City University of Seattle’s “Students In Free Enterprise” (SIFE) team will compete in Seattle, Washington’s SIFE USA Regional Competition on March 30, 2012. The event is one of 11 regional competitions being held across the country this month and next.

Each year, CityU of Seattle, a not-for-profit university headquartered in the greater Seattle area, has students at the master’s and bachelor level participate in this competition. Annually students tackle issues that their community faces on a daily basis. Throughout SIFE’s history, students have learned business concepts through developing community outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.

This year, CityU students focused on having a more sustainable future in five different projects. Poor nutrition; hunger; carbon emission; and joblessness were all issues being addressed in student projects. To raise awareness around such issues, students integrated marketing techniques; traditional and non-traditional fundraising tactics; and went out into the communities to practice what they were proposing. This resulted in students getting hands-on experience and two grants. HSBC awarded one team of students with the “HSBC Financial Literacy Grant”; and Lowe’s awarded students with the “Lowe’s Community Improvement Grant”.

“To lead a team of people from five different countries with one vision has been extraordinary. I’ve learned a lot about managing a team of people, budgeting, and executing a plan. While doing this, I’ve seen the many benefits of having a myriad of different perspectives. I look forward to participating in the competition on Friday and would recommend participating in SIFE to anyone who would like to get experience while serving his or her community,” said Winnie Paramita, President of CityU SIFE team.

CityU is one of nearly 600 programs in the United States participating in SIFE’s competition. According to CityU’s SIFE Sam Walton fellow, Kathy Cox, “The international perspective of this team is what gives our team an edge and is what differentiates us from the others. To see my students focus on issues like hunger, the environment and nutrition; and to hear what they all had to say about it was fascinating. It showed me the value of having an international perspective, when trying to tackle community issues. CityU is passionate about reaching anyone with the desire to learn and I must say, as often as I taught them about team work and business strategy, they too taught and inspired me throughout this process.”

If CityU’s SIFE team wins on Friday, they will advance to the 2012 SIFE USA National Exposition in Kansas City, Missouri, May 22- 24. Read a more in-depth account of the projects on our blog. Read more about CityU’s school of management programs.