RIPON, Wis. – Ripon College’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team recently returned from a successful trip to the national competition in Chicago, at which the team finished first runner-up in their league ahead of the University of Arkansas but behind Elizabethtown University. Their finish placed them in the top 40 out of some 580 participants.

“The students really inspire me,” said Mary Avery, SIFE advisor and director of Ripon’s Business Administration program. “We competed with much larger schools and proved that it’s not the size or funding of a program that leads to success – it’s the dedication and creativity of the students combined with alumni support.”

The team’s presentation highlighted the 10 projects they worked on this year and how those projects impacted the community and the world. They included "Mind Your Money" with Ripon 8th graders; the Blue Mountain Project in Jamaica; the Spanish Calendars (student Blanca Gomez translated the Ripon city calendar into Spanish so Hispanic residents could become more involved in the community); and the SIFE Consulting group which offers free business consulting to local entrepreneurs. They used Ripon’s “More. Together.” tagline as the theme for their presentation to show how Ripon’s collaborative spirit enabled the young team to outperform many other schools.

Ripon earned its berth at nationals by winning its league at the Minneapolis regional March 26.

“We are so proud to be able to represent Ripon College on a national level like this,” said Ripon SIFE president Lauren Nygren. “Our collaborative efforts with the college, community, and alumni throughout the world really shined in our presentation, and the judges obviously understood that Ripon is a special place.”

Indeed, key alumni involved with the SIFE team shared the thrill of their achievement.

“I was struck by the maturity of our team, their intellect, their dedication to this competition and the number of programs this ‘activity’ has created for itself that are involved with and benefit the Ripon community,” said Mark Wright ’75, Ripon College Trustee.

Participants included Jeff Judd, Peter Hollmaier, Jessica Solverud, Kaity Thoma, Lauren Nygren, Ray Anderson, Paul Williams, Mary McDonald, Nick Damico, Cathie Schult, Blanca Gomez, Chris Larsen, Sarah Hazaert, John Bailey and Melinda McNett.

About SIFE

SIFE is an international network of student, academic and business leaders who have made a commitment to create a better world with better leaders – individuals who have the ability and are willing to put forth the effort to make a meaningful contribution to their communities, and are working together to improve the lives of others.

Working in partnership with business and higher education, SIFE mobilizes university students around the world to use the knowledge gained in the classroom to address real world business and economic issues in their communities. SIFE students form teams on their university campuses and develop outreach projects that teach market economics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, personal success skills and business ethics.

About Ripon College
Ripon College, founded in 1851, prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Ripon’s liberal arts curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education. Ripon has consistently been recognized as a “best value” and “Best 366 College” by The Princeton Review, a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s, a “Best Liberal-Arts College” by Washington Monthly, and is listed among the 160 best schools in the nation by Colleges of Distinction.

Ripon's SIFE team with their first runner-up trophy (click to enlarge)