An Eye Opening Experience- SIFE USA National Exposition

Sometimes there comes a point in life when you are inspired, inspired to do better than you have done in the past, for me, one of these moments came this past week.

Our SIFE team has won 8 consecutive Regional Championships which has placed us at the SIFE USA National Exposition for the past 8 years. This year our team continued that winning legacy and was rewarded by traveling to Minneapolis, MN for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Personally speaking, my eyes were opened, I now see the big picture, the objective, the goal. Our goal is to help people in need through business skills. To say "business skills" really could turn some people away, because business skills really doesn't sound that attractive at all. It sounds boring. So, let me rephrase, we help people in need through applying our imagination and passion for helping others. We just happen to learn and apply a few business skills along way.

This past week has truly been crazy and now that its over I can reflect on it. We started off the week on Tuesday afternoon, my plane left at 2:45. It was my first plane flight and I enjoyed my experience. I would like to thank the Belk College of Business for supporting our travel expenses.

When we arrived in Minneapolis I tried this amazing Strawberry Cheesecake Caramel Apple. I'm regretting not getting about 20 of them for the flight back. We arrived at the Hilton Hotel somewhere around 5:30 and then got ready for dinner at the original Buca restaurant. After dinner we ran to the Rally of Champions. The Rally of Champions is the opening ceremony of the week and it showcased the teams from across the nation that made it to Nationals, including our SIFE team. After the Rally of Champions we practiced until about 1AM.

We woke up around 5:00AM so we could get up and practice a few run-throughs before our presentation at 8:25AM. When the time came around for our presentation we were ready. Check out the opening round video below.

SIFE Opening Round Video:


This video helps to showcase all the energy that we experienced through the course of the weekend. The energy was absolutely amazing, I'm not even sure how to put it into words.

Now I would like to speak about some of the thing other teams are doing around the world. You can check out the top four presentations at the following links: Texas State University- San Marcos, Drury University, Flagler College and Syracuse University.

Other SIFE teams have been able to do some amazing things in their communities and collectively they do amazing things across the world. These SIFE teams use their entrepreneurial abilities to develop "profit centers" which are money making ventures that fund the rest of their projects. Belmont University has a new project to make money in which they sell the scrap materials from used bed mattresses. In their first month of operation they make $33,000.  The winning team from Texas State University- San Marcos was able to help tons of farmers in their region to reduce costs and increase income which helped greatly with their profit margins. Other teams like to to a lot of projects outside the US. Syracuse SIFE has a project called Strings of Hope which has opened a business in Guatemala where they helped women open a store. The store sells products which the women made.

SU SIFE Video:


Our SIFE team is on the verge of making a huge difference like those mentioned above. I strongly recommend that you take a look at the winning presentations from the four teams above.

The SIFE USA National Exposition might be over but the effects of it are just beginning. As our team grows we will impact the lives of more people through stronger means. SIFE has truly been the best thing that has happened in my collegiate experience. I urge each and every one of  you to join our team and make a difference in the lives of others.

SIFE for LIFE,
-MGM


          

The UNC Charlotte SIFE Team is gearing up for Summer Planning and Competition

In a little over a week there will be about half a dozen UNC Charlotte SIFE students who hit the plane on their way to Minneapolis, MN with the National EXPO in mind. This will be our 8th year reaching the National Exposition and hopefully our first to make it out of the room. Making it on the big stage would be a horribly frightening but amazingly exciting experience for me.

Over the past several years our SIFE team has witnessed incredible growth. Our 2010-2011 SIFE President, Rachel Williams, was speaking at her last meeting as President about how she has personally witnessed tremendous group in the five years she has been on our team. She said it was just three or four years ago that we only had around 15 students and were operating so many projects that each person on the team was expected to essentially over commit him/herself by taking on too many project and too many roles. Last year our membership had increased to a low 30s number. By the end of this year our membership has soared to about 55-60. Our goal for next year's membership is going to be 100. Going from 15 members to 100 members in a four year time span is amazing. It really is a testament to our SIFE team's dedication for perfection.

The level of organization that goes into our SIFE team is quite remarkable compared to other student organizations on our campus. This year we have created a lot of new positions, created new projects and forged new relationships. Some of these positions are the online marketing coordinator, the alumni relations coordinator, the VP of Human Resources, and graphic designers. We have also created a committee to help look for future revenue making opportunities. For the time being it is coined the "Financial Committee."

I am thrilled as we look into the future of our SIFE team, what we have accomplished and what we are setting out to accomplish. The possibilities are endless, let your imagination run wild.

-MGM
2011-2012 VP of Marketing
2010-2011 Competition Team