Caption: Front row (L-R): Teddy Benz ᾽19; Lauren Thorne ᾽21; Nick Tober᾽06 MBA ᾽08, Enactus advisor; Rebecca Anthone ’18 and Annie Niland ’18 Back row (L-R): Luke Kennedy ᾽21, Thomas Kirch ᾽18, Collin Zapisek ᾽18 and Jack Moretti ᾽18.
Canisius Enactus (formerly SIFE) placed fifth in the Enactus United States National Exposition in Kansas City, MO from May 21-23. Out of approximately 1,300 Enactus teams in the US, only 87 teams earned a spot to compete at the national level. Canisius College Enactus advanced to the semi-final round of competition – an honor bestowed to the top 16 US Enactus teams. Canisius Enactus consistently places among the top teams in the country at national competitions.
Enactus is an international non-profit organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, the student leaders of Enactus create and implement community empowerment projects around the globe.
The Canisius Enactus team gave a 17-minute audiovisual presentation highlighting their programs’ entrepreneurial, economic and social impact to a panel of judges from major corporations, such as Walmart, Hallmark, Unilever, KPMG, Rich’s, Johnson & Johnson, Ford and Microsoft, followed by a five-minute Q&A session.
The Canisius Enactus team included the following students:
- Rebecca Anthone ᾽18, journalism and communication studies dual major
- Teddy Benz ᾽19, computer science and digital media arts dual major
- Luke Kennedy ᾽21, freshman communication studies major
- Thomas Kirch ᾽18, finance major
- Jack Moretti MBA᾽18, graduate student in the master’s program in business administration
- Annie Niland ᾽18, digital media arts major
- Lauren Thorne ᾽21, freshman mathematics and economics dual major
- Annie Westermeier ᾽18, biology major
- Collin Zapisek ᾽18, management major
Nick Tober ᾽06, MBA ᾽08 serves as Enactus advisor and has been involved with Canisius Enactus since fall 2004. Tober replaces Patricia Hutton, PhD, professor of economics and finance, who founded the team in spring 2004.
“The Canisius College and Buffalo communities are forever indebted to Pat for her hard work, perseverance and dedication to Enactus over the past 13 years,” says Tober. “Canisius Enactus is making a positive difference in the education of our students and is giving them a competitive edge in the job market. The team’s initiatives not only contribute to the local community and economy but are also consistent with and promote the Jesuit mission of the college, especially Buffalo’s growing immigrant community.”
“I am very impressed by the accomplishments of the Canisius Enactus team,” said Denise M. Rotundo, PhD, dean of the Wehle School of Business. “The students are making a positive impact on the local community by helping at-risk populations develop sustainable incomes through entrepreneurial activity. At the same time, the students are using the knowledge and skills developed in their business classes while they are living the mission of the college and the Wehle School of Business.”
Watch a video about Enactus here.
Submitted by: College Communications
