BELLEVUE, Wash. – The student SIFE team from Bellevue-based City University was the overall league champion for the second year in a row, and walked away with first place in three of the six categories at the regional SIFE competition held recently in Seattle, Wash. City University’s team is the only SIFE team in North America that is comprised entirely of international students. That global perspective on free enterprise and internationalization helped the university’s team place ahead of California State University and East Bay both from California, Walla Walla College, Heritage University from Washington, Eastern Oregon University from Oregon, and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, from Alaska. The City University SIFE team is the only Western Washington team to advance to the national competition, May 6-8, 2007 in Dallas, TX.

"The City University SIFE team is a true representation of the university's global reach," comments Dr. Marie A. Cini, Interim Dean, City University’s School of Management. "Being the only team in North America that is made up entirely of international students demonstrates City University's commitment to educating the world's students as our global marketplace continues to grow and change."

The diverse SIFE team is comprised of undergraduate juniors and seniors, and first and second year graduate students from Bulgaria, Cambodia, India, Columbia, Malaysia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia. “We are proud of the diversity of the team,” comments Larry Frazier, City University SIFE team Faculty Advisor/Sam Walton Fellow. “There’s no other team that’s comprised of students from ten countries, who speak twelve different languages, from four different continents. This unique perspective is a great differentiator for our team.”

About SIFE:

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a global, non-profit organization that is changing the world through highly dedicated student teams on more than 1600 university campuses in 40 countries. SIFE offers students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise, thereby improving the standard of living for millions in the process. Guided by faculty advisors and supported by businesses around the globe, SIFE teams teach important concepts through educational outreach projects, including market economics, entrepreneurship, personal and financial success, and business ethics to better themselves, their communities and their countries.