Business students win west, headed to nationals

A group of Kamloops business students bagged a Western Canada title and is now aiming to best every other university in the country.

Thompson Rivers University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) was named the financial education challenge regional champion in the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship challenge. The competition sponsored by HSBC was held in Calgary.

Megan Lepp, vice-president of marketing for SIFE in Kamloops, said it is the club’s first regional championship. In May, the team returns to Calgary as one of two western competitors, along with Okanagan College, in the national contest.

TRU’s team beat out others in its pool, including University of Calgary. The group operates as an extracurricular club at TRU with support from university faculty.

Travelling to the Western competition in Calgary were 27 student members as well as TRU’s dean of business and a faculty advisor.

SIFE is an active club on and off campus. Among its recent activities, it worked with local social agencies to help people with brain injuries or developmental difficulties learn about money. It also operates a consulting service for city small businesses at no charge.

Those two activities – all done on volunteer time – secured the win.

The club was in the news this year when it opened a competing pub night at Cactus Jacks Saloon downtown to the pub night at Heroes on campus, where it had been the sponsoring group for years.

Lepp said for the national competition students will have 10 minutes to present its activities to a panel of judges, considered business experts.

“It’s how you convey in 10 minutes the expanse and impact of your project.”

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