January 10, 2013
Two OBU students were among 30 Enactus students selected nationwide to attend the 2013 Partner Summit Jan. 30-31 in New York City's Time-Life Building. Christopher Sanford and Alexandria Schauer, both freshmen, were chosen to represent OBU at the event.
During the summit, participants will interact with several top business leaders whose companies hire Enactus students, including Mike Moore, executive vice president of Walmart Centeral. They also engage in other networking opportunities, and they will see a presentation by the Enactus Mexico National Champion Team.
OBU freshmen Alexandria Schauer(left) and Christopher Sanford (right) were among 30 Enactus students selected nationwide to attend the 2013 Partner Summit.
"I look forward to participating in the event because it is my first opportunity to network with professionals," said Sanford, a finance and social entrepreneurship major from Valley Center, Kan. "The Partner Summit will give me the chance to learn what I should expect while looking for a job. I hope that it gives me connections that I can use later in my college career."
Dr. David Houghton, dean of the Dickinson College of Business, said the honor of being selected usually falls to junior and senior candidates. That OBU had two students selected who are both freshmen speaks well of the quality of students on Bison Hill and OBU's Enactus team, he said.
Schauer, an international business major from Fort Gibson, Okla., said participating in the summit will allow her to see the bigger picture of the business world and Enactus.
"This hands-on experience will allow me to meet business executives and will hopefully open a door to a job after I graduate from Oklahoma Baptist University," Schauer said. "Being selected as a freshman is a huge honor. I am very blessed and thankful to have been nominated by Dean Houghton and selected by Enactus to be a part of this wonderful experience."
Enactus is a community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better more sustainable world. The group changed its name from the well-known Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) in September 2012. Enactus maintains a long-standing commitment to using entrepreneurial action as a catalyst for progress.
The organization was created almost 40 years ago believing the transformative power the entrepreneurial spirit can have in people's lives. The group pioneered a groundbreaking model that deploys student teams, with the advice and support of academic and business leaders, to design and implement community empowerment projects in 39 countries. Enactus reports that 57,000 students participate in creating projects each year.