Thirty one students completed this “Free Enterprise City” class in which they learned personal and social responsibility, finance and purchasing principles, marketing strategies, how to acquire capital, business ownership and reward for hard work. The students applied their knowledge by opening a profitable student store, with money collected from stock sales. The students were given the option to buy stock, or “Put Some Skin in the Game” with the knowledge that their investment would grow with the stores profit; this fueled their motivation. These children, over the course of the semester developed an understanding of how a market based economic system operates, a requirement assigned by SIFE headquarters. The Free Enterprise City classes also meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) requirement for basic understanding of economic principles.
SIFE is a global, non-profit organization that is literally changing the world through highly dedicated student teams on more than 1600 university campuses in 40 countries. SIFE offers these students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise, thereby improving the standard of living for millions in the process. Texas State SIFE is one of the leading collegiate teams within the United States. Texas State SIFE has placed within the Top 20 at national competitions since 1997 and was the International Champion in 2000.
For more information contact:
Vicki West
Texas State University-San Marcos
Phone: (512) 245-3224
E-Mail: vw03@txstate.edu
