John Brown University's Enactus team placed second out of 120 teams at the Enactus United States National Exposition in St. Louis on Tuesday. The team's finish is the highest in university history.
This year Enactus JBU, comprised of 52 students, worked to distribute clean water and provide hygiene education in two locations in Guatemala. The team additionally partnered with Chile inventor Carlos Fuentealba, who designed a pellet-burning furnace to heat homes and reduce emissions in Temuco, Chile.
"I am always excited when I see students using entrepreneurship to make a real difference. Enactus JBU is committed to developing entrepreneurial solutions that improve the communities we serve and care about. Our students are meeting local and global needs, and we are very proud of them," said Clayton Anderson, faculty adviser for Enactus JBU.
The team also launched Yellow Crate, a mobile app that alerts customers of food pantry needs whenever they walk into a participating grocery store. Other projects included One Loom, a business to help Guatemalan artisans increase sales through marketing strategies and an ambassador program, and Superate, a project to build a school to teach English in Campur, Guatemala.
In the final round of competition, each of the top four university teams gave a 17-minute presentation highlighting their most noteworthy projects. Judges evaluated teams on how effectively they understood and met the local and global community needs with entrepreneurial solutions. Each team's solutions had to have measurable, observable results and the potential to enable long-term, sustainable change within the community.
La Sierra University of Riverside, Calif., finished in first place and Flagler College of St. Augustine, Fla., and Heritage University Toppenish, Wash., took third and fourth respectively. Enactus JBU has finished in the top 4 four times since 2003.
Anderson also was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Sam Walton Free Enterprise Fellows, the highest honor for an Enactus adviser. Each year, two faculty advisers, known as Sam Walton Fellows, are inducted into the Hall of Fame for their prodigious work to advance and empower their school's Enactus organization. Anderson is the youngest fellow to be inducted.
"I am very proud of our JBU Enactus team," said Joe Walenciak, dean of the Soderquist College of Business and 2010 Sam Walton Fellow of the Year. "Clayton has built a strong team of officers and project leaders who have pioneered a positive difference in our world. The quality and integrity of our JBU students shine through in all that they do."
General News on 05/22/2016