Enactus, a business club that’s open to students in any major, has re-launched a Lakeland chapter.
Enactus invites students to think like entrepreneurs and use innovation and business principles to improve the world. There are more than 72,000 students at 1,730 campuses in 36 countries involved in Enactus.
Lakeland previously had a chapter, which had once been named Students in Free Enterprise, but it went inactive. Previous groups did significant work at Lakeland – the popular Volunteer Income Tax Assistance that has seen accounting majors do tax returns for low-income earners in the region evolved out of a project by this group.
This relaunched group has 20 members with Bryce Risch serving as president, Jacob Barthels as vice president, Sarah Thomas as treasurer, Kayla Hemb as clerk and Logan Lisowski and Mira Reed as project managers. Their advisor is business faculty member Kim Viglietti.
At the end of May, four students – Risch, Barthels, Hemb and Lisowski – accompanied Viglietti to Kansas City, Mo., for the Enactus regional competition. As a new chapter, Lakeland did not compete, but was paired with the chapter from Cornerstone University in Michigan, a veteran group that helped mentor Lakeland’s team.
Viglietti said the experience was invaluable, and the students came away with a number of ideas for this summer and the coming school year.
“The two groups just bonded so well,” she said, noting that they looking into doing a joint project together. “It was so neat to see how organically they worked together.”
The group’s officers will work this summer on project ideas for the coming year, and the group’s goal is to present at sectionals next spring.
“Students learn community impact and the importance of being involved, networking and how that leads to internships and long-term jobs,” Viglietti said. “The networking is priceless, and our students are seeing the community impact that they can make. Logan, one of our freshmen, said ‘I just want to do this to make a difference.’”
