JBU Places Third in Nation in Enactus Competition
SILOAM SPRINGS, ARK. (April 22, 2015) - John Brown University’s Enactus team placed third in the Enactus United States National Exposition in St. Louis on Friday, April 16. JBU advanced to the final round by ranking first in their league in the opening, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, propelling past 178 other teams into the Top 4.
Business executives from across the nation evaluated teams on how effectively they understood and met a pressing community need with entrepreneurial solutions. The solutions had to have measurable, observable results and the potential to enable long-term, sustainable change within the community. Enactus supports nearly 17,000 students worldwide in their application of business concepts to improve the quality of life for people in need.
“JBU’s Enactus team is one-of-a-kind,” said Clayton Anderson, manager of strategic Innovation at the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics and Enactus faculty advisor. “I am impressed every year by the creativity and collaboration of our students to provide sustainable solutions to problems they care deeply about.”
Twelve Enactus team members represented JBU in St. Louis including the four-member presentation team: Jake Knight, Gabriela Mejia Flores, Diana Cascante and Luke Powers. The presentation team gave their 17-minute presentation on JBU’s most noteworthy Enactus projects in each of the qualifying rounds, highlighting JBU’s work in Guatemala to distribute clean water and provide hygiene education; their aquaponics farming training for families in Sahakkum, Cambodia, to combat malnutrition and generate income through surplus produce; and their partnership with the Siloam Springs Adult Development Center to launch a local, secure document destruction service that provide jobs for the disabled adults in the community.
All four teams in the final round gave their presentations in front of the other 180 competing teams and 125 business executive judges on the main stage of the America’s Center. Brigham Young University – Hawaii finished in first place, La Sierra University of Riverside, Calif. took second and Belmont University of Nashville, Tenn. finished fourth.
“This third place finish is an honoring acknowledgement of the good work our students are doing locally and internationally,” said Joe Walenciak, dean of the Soderquist College of Business. “Our business students are amongst the top in the country not just for their innovation or intelligence but for their commitment to the difficult task of making our world a better place. We are proud of all they have accomplished this year.”
JBU has placed within the top four only twice before with a third place finish in 2003 and fourth place finish in 2009.
John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked No. 1 overall and a Best Value among Southern regional colleges by U.S. News. JBU enrolls more than 2,800 students from 42 states and 40 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
