Learning While Teaching
Students learn business and leadership skills by teaching others.

By Bill Williams

Students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) are learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise on a global scale.
They are part of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), a global, non-profit organization of highly dedicated student teams on more than 1,600 university campuses in 40 countries, including 800 college campuses in the United States. The students develop their leadership and communications skills as they teach the values and principles of market economics around the world. The students learn by teaching as they help to improve the quality of life and standard of living for millions of people.

Dedicated Students
Alex Thompson, a UMKC student has had the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills during the 20 months he has been a part of the SIFE program.

“I’ve been involved in projects dealing with health care and youth development. I’ve taught several groups and I’ve done volunteer work for needy people at Christmas time,” said Thompson. “The scope of the programs is great because it allows us to get involved in things we care about.”
Thompson has finished his master’s in business administration and is working on a master’s in public health administration. He has been involved in several projects under one heading known as Heal the Heartland, which addresses health care needs and access to health care.

“We helped one small organization prepare a feasibility study for opening a wellness clinic,” Thompson said.

Franci Erdmann has been on some of the same teams as Alex, and although she has only been with SIFE for four months, she has been involved with marketing and market research, which is her area of study.

“We developed an educational training program for entrepreneurs in rural communities, as well as urban areas,” said Erdmann. “We also developed a contract negotiations training class.”

Erdmann’s project needed training videos to accompany the course, so she and her team wrote the video scripts and completed the production of a series of videos for the course.

“People see results based on the direction and information we provide them,” said Erdmann, who will graduate in December with a master’s in business administration and marketing.

She said the market research projects have applicable use for the individuals and organizations for which they are preparing them. And, the projects are better than a lot of course work that sometimes focuses only on theory.

Global Outreach
Last year, UMKC and SIFE sponsored the Sally Ride Science Fair for middle school girls in the region, where America’s first female astronaut spoke about educational requirements for becoming an astronaut. The young women also learned about other careers in the area of science and technology, and some salary ranges.

SIFE students teach important concepts through educational outreach projects, including market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success, and business ethics, to better themselves, their communities and even foreign countries.

“One fellow student is now back at home in Bulgaria checking on how we did developing lesson plans for a Bulgarian high school that teaches the American business model and free enterprise,” said Thompson.


Reaching Dreams
Each year, SIFE competitions are held worldwide, drawing together thousands of students and business leaders to pay tribute to these extraordinary educational outreach projects.

Thompson and Erdmann are guided by faculty advisor Patricia Gabriel, who was named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow in honor of the late Wal-Mart founder.

Gabriel said SIFE students establish community outreach programs that teach free enterprise.

“They teach concepts such as budgeting, accounting and supply and demand. They help budding entrepreneurs get their plans off the ground and mentor students, inspiring them to reach for their dreams.” Gabriel said.

Gabriel said she is a coach to the students and is there to respond to their needs, but the students search out opportunities in the community where they can make a difference and that makes it a very meaningful experience for them.

And the team has been very successful.

“We generated approximately $35,000 in revenue for area businesses, created a potential of $105,000 in funding for non-profits through fund raising and grant writing activities, and reached over 750 people with our educational projects,” said Gabriel.

Students don’t have to major in business to be in SIFE; it is a multidisciplinary program.

Gabriel said SIFE UMKC is very diverse as compared with other campuses, and has many international students who add dimension to the programs. SIFE UMKC recruits at various events and campus activities throughout the year.  

Other nearby schools participating in SIFE include Avila University, Missouri Western State College, Kansas City Kansas Community College, Saint Mary College, University of Kansas, MidAmerica Nazarene University and Johnson County Community College.

Bill Williams is the managing editor of Kansas City Small Business Monthly.