The College of Charleston’s Enactus (Entrepreneurs in Action – US) team earned top honors at the National Exposition, finishing among the top 60 universities in the nation, and taking third in the ocean sustainability category. This is the second time the team has received this honor since its inception in 2004.
“This is a tribute to the hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit of our School of Business students,” says Dr. David Desplaces, associate professor of management and team adviser. “We couldn’t have done it without the professors who have taught, worked with, and mentored these team members over the last several years.”
To be named one of the top teams in the nation, the business students compete in a bracket-style tournament, delivering a presentation of their projects to a panel of CEOs and executives. Watch a video of their presentation. The College of Charleston Enactus team presented results from their Kick it Forward and Lemon-Aid Stand projects. Kick-it Forward empowered 1,625 elementary students in Cameroon, Africa, by providing necessary school supplies to stay in school, as well as giving hygiene lessons to curb the cholera outbreak. Watch a video from this trip. The Lemon-Aid Stand taught 45 elementary students banking, hygiene, and entrepreneurship skills, while raising $562 for local non-profits.
The team earned third place in the ocean sustainability category for their Oyster Shell Recycling program, in which they educated more than 3,000 people on the importance of recycling oysters, bagged 33,000 pounds of recycled oysters for reinvestment into waterways, and constructed a three million gallon-a-day filtration capacity reef to fight water pollution.
Participating students include: Holly Davis, Sean Hooper, Stephanie Schnabel, Nicole Watches, Kesha Rainey, Peyton McGuire, and Alex Pappas with the support of Sarah Cielinski and Allison Woodruff.
The students are already planning for next year on each project. With Kick it Forward, the team hopes to partner with the American Embassy in Cameroon on developmental projects. The next step for the Lemon-Aid Stand is to partner with YESCarolina to extend programs to middle schools in the Charleston area. And, plans are being made to partner with the Open Land Trust to promote recycling and education through environmental sustainability.
For more information, contact David Desplaces at desplacesd@cofc.edu or 843.566.5640.
