Game Time: SIFE Present at Nationals

Hundreds of miles from campus, Saint Anselm College’s SIFE chapter prepares to introduce Philadelphia to a taste of Benedictine hospitality.

Sharply dressed in matching blue shirts and black suits, the team resembles seasoned business professionals as they huddle outside the presentation room. Moments before game time, co-president Tom Cullen offered final words of encouragement and Dr. Fitzpatrick led a team cheer.

Rooted in business etiquette, SIFE competition is highly structured. The team has exactly 24 minutes to describe the chapter’s service projects and impact in the local and international community, followed by a brief question and answer period.

After the team introduced themselves to each of the 12 judges, Cullen began the presentation, describing the demographics of the Saint Anselm College community.

The presentation touched on projects such as Pennies for Peace, micro-lending, the Relay for Life, and the winter warm coat drive. SIFE’s endeavors raised over $10,000 to construct a school in rural Afghanistan, provided loans for struggling entrepreneurs in developing nations, supported the American Cancer Society, and collected second-hand coats for poor children, respectively.

Each student spoke with conviction, emphasizing the chapter’s commitment to establishing sustainable projects and lasting relationships with the community.

Additionally, the team highlighted future projects, such as next year’s partnership with Heifer International, supporting a holistic approach to combat hunger around the world.

Nick Provost ’10 described SIFE’s significance around campus, mentioning SGA’s recent appropriation, Crier articles, and the paparazzi (yours truly!) shadowing the team during the team’s adventure in Philly.

Outside the presentation room, the weight lifted from the team’s shoulders is evident. The team agrees their execution could have been sharper; yet, they continue to hope the judges will acknowledge the scale of their projects and the chapter’s progress.

Although the presentation is complete, the day is far from over. The group scoped out the competition and checked out the career fair, before heading to the opening rounds awards ceremony.

After wearing restricting heels and ties all day, the SIFE team is already salivating, dreaming of dinner.

Read about the SIFE team's first day in Philadelphia and their win at regional competition.

Additional photos are available on our Flickr photo sharing site.

Crunch Time in Philadelphia; SIFE Prepares for Competition

"We can advance," repeats SIFE faculty advisor, Dr. Fitzpatrick, as he observes his team. National competition, the day Saint Anselm College's SIFE team has spent the year anticipating, has finally arrived.

Around 1 p.m., the team will present their SIFE projects in front of a group judges, hoping to advance to the semifinal round of competition for the first time in the chapter's history.

Crowded into a hotel room, the group continues to polish their presentation. To an outsider the scene may seem chaotic, but after spending a day with the St. A's SIFE team, I know better.

Each team member understands his or her specific role during the presentation. Michael Conley '10 continues to tweak the PowerPoint presentation, adding pictures and bullets from SIFE's recent Maxed Out: Credit Card Debt and Financial Literacy Symposium, while Will Combes '10 prepares to present in his first SIFE competition. The rest of the team perfects their oral execution.

Dr. Fitzpatrick observes the group rehearse the presentation, reminding the team their projects convey the extraordinary success of the young chapter. "We are so far ahead of where I thought we would be 3 years ago." SIFE's membership on campus has grown to over 40 members. In accordance, the team continues to launch new projects.

The team's projects positively affect local communities in the Manchester area, such as Junior Achievement Titan, a program designed to engage high school students in the practice of business ethics and entrepreneurship, while Pennies for Peace supports the Central Asia Institute's mission to educate children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The SIFE team's broad range of projects, their widespread impact, and their sustainability demonstrate the chapter's growth. Dr. Fitzpatrick is optimistic the team's efforts will be acknowledged with the opportunity to advance.

After a brief trial-run, he encourages his team to "Dial it up a notch," reiterating his mantra "We can advance."

Read about the SIFE team’s first day in Philadelphia and their win at regional competition.

Additional photos are available on our Flickr photo sharing site.

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Compete in Nationals

While most Saint Anselm College students have packed up their dorm rooms and moved home for summer break, the college's SIFE team is taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes of Philadelphia, Penn. as one of 137 colleges qualified to compete at SIFE's 2009 National Exposition.

I, Jenn Goonan, senior English major and former communications intern, have joined the Saint Anselm group on their trip to Philly to capture all the action as it happens. Check back throughout the next two days to hear all about the group's competition or check out the photos on Flickr.

The team of eight, Thomas Cullen '09, Christine Connolly '09, Nick Rich '09, Meredith Shepard '09, Katie Bruce '10, Nick Provost '10, Will Combes '10, and Michael Conley '10, led by faculty advisor Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick, will be in Philadelphia May 10-12 competing against colleges and universities from around the country.

Arriving Sunday, the team spent the day touring the City of Brotherly Love, checking out Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Eastern State Penitentiary, the Philadelphia Museum of Art's infamous steps (the same steps Sylvester Stallone ran up in boxing movie Rocky), and of course, the group had to indulge in the one and only, Philly cheese-steak.

After touring the city, the team joined thousands of college students at the Philadelphia Convention Center for the annual Rally of Champions. Mike Conley, junior business major from Hopkinton, N.H. represented Saint Anselm by carrying a Saint Anselm College sign across the stage behind the New Hampshire state flag.

During the rally, SIFE also acknowledged the faculty advisors, including Dr. Fitzpatrick.
Various speakers energized the students, including SIFE Alumnus of the Year Mr. Tony Dickinson of Wells Fargo & Co. Dickson encouraged students to network and accept failure as a learning experience. The rally's keynote speaker, the Honorable Edward Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania, opened the exposition, noting the students' accomplishments and wishing them luck.

The trip is about more than sight-seeing and networking though, and the group is presenting Monday at 1 p.m., so Sunday evening was all about preparation and perfecting their presentation.

Although everyone appeared on edge as they worked out the presentation's kinks, adjusting to describe new projects and new results, Provost promised "Tomorrow will be like clockwork."

SIFE Team Takes New England by Storm

Gathered inside a newly furnished conference room in Joseph Hall, the SIFE team looks more like seasoned business professionals than college students. The team's enthusiasm is infectious as they chatter about winning their third consecutive New England SIFE Championship on March 31, 2009. Watch out Philadelphia, Saint Anselm is ready to rock their competition at the SIFE National Exposition on May 10-12. Read more

Students Map Light Pollution on Campus

On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, a group of students and professors gathered in Perini Lecture Hall to discuss the harmful effects of light pollution. Read more

The Saint Behind the Shamrocks

St. Patrick is not the patron saint of alcohol consumption. He did not drink green beer and likely did not drive snakes from Ireland.

So who is this man hidden behind a shroud of shamrocks?

“We have very few historical details about his life, yet he has retained prominence throughout history,” explains Professor Patricia Sullivan of the Theology Department.

The details of St. Patrick’s life are disputed, but historians have established a few facts.

Born on the island of Britain in 385 A.D., Patrick’s first steps on Ireland’s lush soil were as a captured slave. While enslaved, he labored in Irish fields, where he began to experience an intense religious conversion. In his writing, St. Patrick describes hearing the voice of God, urging him to escape slavery.

In pursuit of freedom, Patrick traveled to Gaul, where he received protection and religious instruction from various monasteries. His spiritual education was driven by his desire to bring Christianity to Ireland. Despite the failures of previous missionaries, Patrick was ordained a bishop and sent to Ireland to convert the island’s five kingdoms of pagan worshipers.

The Encyclopedia of Saints notes, “His two primary achievements were the promotion of a native clergy and the careful integration of the Christian faith with native Irish-Celtic culture.” Patrick understood the Irish peoples’ pagan tradition and unlike his predecessors, he attempted to weave Irish culture with Christianity. Historically, the sun was a fundamental symbol of Irish culture; instead, of eliminating the sun’s cultural significance, Patrick combined the sun and the Christian cross to form the Celtic cross.

A lack of concrete facts translates to a number of popular legends regarding St. Patrick and March 17.

It is unlikely that Patrick physically drove snakes out of Ireland; rather, Professor Sullivan explains, the legend is a “metaphor for Patrick’s missionary influence.” By the time of his death, he had successfully converted the majority of Ireland’s pagan population.

The shamrock is an emblem of Irish pride, but its popularity is linked to the ministry of St. Patrick. According to legend, Saint Patrick used a clover to explain the Trinity. More accurately, the emergence of the shamrock represented the renewal of spring.

Despite his missionary triumph, Church records do list the miracles attributed to St. Patrick. “St. Patrick was canonized before the official process of canonization began in the 16th century. Today the process is more tightly regulated,” says Professor Sullivan.

St. Patrick’s popularity is deserved, but recently his religious significance has been lost amid March 17 festivities.

Professor Sullivan says, “St. Patrick’s Day has become overlaid with legend and the cultural associations have developed non-religious tradition.” She says attending Mass is a simple way to commemorate the Feast of St. Patrick.

On March 17, Mass will be celebrated on campus, in the Lady Chapel at 11:30 a.m.

The hype surrounding St. Patrick’s Day is a relatively recent phenomena. In fact, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day until the 1970s. Today, the Irish government plans large-scale celebrations and parades to exhibit Irish culture to the rest of the world. “I’m guessing that St. Patrick’s Day is pretty much celebrated the same way in the U.S. as in Ireland,” says Gareth Brown, a study abroad student from Northern Ireland.

New York City hosted the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1762 when Irish soldiers in the British army gathered in the city’s streets. Not only has the parade remained a tradition, it is also the largest in the world.

Irish fever quickly spread to other U.S. cities, including Chicago where the river is tinted with green vegetable dye to celebrate the occasion. Locally, pubs along Manchester and Boston parade routes open their doors early, serving traditional Irish fare and green beer.

It is important to celebrate Irish heritage on March 17, but it is equally imperative to acknowledge St. Patrick’s Catholic significance.

So next Tuesday, grab yourself a pint of Guinness, but don’t forget to cheer “sláinte” to the memory of St. Patrick!

Photo credit: Flickr photo

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