Clubs on campus often don’t go beyond the personal interests of the members involved. However, Enactus aims to break that stereotype.
The name comes from the mashup of the words entrepreneurial, action and us. According to Enactus Club President Elysia Chao, “The objective of Enactus is to team up with businesses or nonprofits or any other kind of organization, in order to promote change.”
Enactus evolved from SIFE, or Students in Free Enterprise, an organization that was responsible for the founding of the food drive that the student council maintains to this day. Enactus aims to have an impact beyond simply providing needs, moving towards finding methods of sustainable growth through entrepreneurship and cooperation.
“We want any students to participate, anyone looking for something great to put on their resumes, contacts within industries or just a chance to do something good,” said Club Advisor and Associate Professor of Marketing Management Barbara Millard.
The on-campus Enactus has already started some activities and is planning to step into the spotlight in the coming semester.
“Since we are new on campus we haven’t been able to do much yet,” said Chao. “We have had a few meetings and decided to do Gertrude Hawk Chocolate sales in order to brand Enactus on campus and associate it with something continuous. We have also held meetings to discuss projects ideas and met with representatives from Las Pintas to see if we can do a collaborative project.”
Enactus has been working on developing a method of distribution for products produced by the community of Guadalajara.
“We identified needs that the Guadalajara community was having as asked what they would like to see improved and what they needed assistance with,” said Chao. “Enactus took a vote and we decided on the project of assisting the marketing and distribution of the products the students in their community create. They make soaps, lotions, teas and other products, but don’t really have a sustainable way to produce or distribute it, which is our goal this year to improve.”
Students interested in helping out with or joining Enactus and assisting in projects can contact Barbara Millard Enactus meets in RC 146 every Thursday from noon to 1 p.m., however, that is subject to change in the coming semester.
“Anyone can join, even if they’re not interested in business,” said Chao. “It is our goal to help everyone develop their real-world skills and talents, so they can leave JCCC [the college] prepared and with a project in their portfolio to prove it.”