ENACTUS at Centenary

Learn about these various endeavors of the Centenary ENACTUS team.

World at Centenary

The declining trade barriers and communication advances have led to an increasing level of globalization which is an important component for the way that business is conducted in today’s economy.  C-SIFE spent the day at Great Meadows Middle School to communicate the importance of global business awareness to the sixth graders.

The diverse cultural backgrounds of this year’s C-SIFE team allowed us to give a true representation of differing cultural and business practices around the world.  We contrasted differing economic systems around the world and the impact they have on people's lives.  The children’s knowledge shot up 29%.

Now in its eighth year, World at Centenary has been integrated into the curriculum for the entire sixth grade class of 140 students in seven classrooms.  The lesson plans also fit with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards for social science.  Our team has continued to build upon the strong bond between C-SIFE and the school and we are acknowledged as positive role models for the children.

Lemon Man

Lemon Man is our hero and savior of free enterprise. C-SIFE visited a third grade class at Byram Lakes Elementary School and used our copyrighted coloring book to teach the children about free enterprise.  The children were thrilled to have a super hero in their classroom and their knowledge regarding free enterprise increased by 22%.

Lemon Man also made a debut appearance at the Hackettstown Spring Festival.  More than 300 children eagerly learned about becoming entrepreneurs and how to identify a market need.  They got a taste of the marketing concept as they were engaged in a discussion about finding out what the customer wants and giving it to them.  The children sampled this concept with a hands-on opportunity to squeeze their own lemonade.  After a few trials and puckered faces, they made lemonade to fit their preference.  This fun-filled event taught the children and their knowledge increased by 20%.

Squeeze Me, Can I be an Entrepreneur?

C-SIFE devised a two part plan to teach students about the challenges of creating a product to meet a market need.  C-SIFE visited Hackettstown High School to introduce the concept of what it takes to become an entrepreneur.  The following day we returned as Lemon Man Distribution Company with provisions to allow students in grades 9-12 to set up their own businesses.

Working in teams to create their own businesses, the students learned about production processes, branding, promotion, pricing, selling skills, and profit.  These new business owners learned about the financial aspects of business with the help of an Excel spreadsheet.

The young entrepreneurs were all successful in making a profit and their innovative ideas and positive attitudes were inspiring to us all.  They demonstrated a wide range of essential skills.  Pre- and post- tests showed an increase in knowledge of 37%.

Scooping up the Dough

C-SIFE visited Hackettstown Middle and High Schools, using the theme of an ice cream parlor, to communicate the importance of identifying a market need and the steps required to capitalize on it.

The lesson plan included a game in which the children answered questions about the various aspects of business including: marketing research, the marketing mix and marketing concept, and ethics.  The students associated the risks of entrepreneurial business ventures with the roll of a die and this factor was partly responsible in determining the fate of the teams.

We gave the children the opportunity to try their hand at business by providing them with everything they needed to make ice cream sundaes.  They raced against the clock and the other team, using income statements to record the financial processes.  The children’s knowledge increased by 39%.

Scooping Up the Dough refocused its efforts to target another age group.  The high school students at Hackettstown High School also participated in this fun-filled lesson.  Although the objectives remained the same, the questions were tailored to the target audience of 9th -12th grade.  Their knowledge increased by 74%.

Lessons for Life

As our entry for the Polsky Personal Investing to Achieve Financial Independence Special Competition, C-SIFE created Lessons for Life, an outreach project to educate students and local community members about the importance and practicalities of saving for retirement.

The seminar was conducted to an audience of over 100 people and taught them how to assess their savings needs and goals. It also explained the complexities of different types of accounts and funds. We introduced the concept of time value of money and demonstrated how cutting back on simple expenses, like a cup of coffee, can result in impressive savings over time. The participants’ knowledge increased by 26%.

Banking on Your Future

This project was composed of four different lesson plans and reached students in kindergarten, third and fourth grade, and high school. The lessons met the curriculum requirements for each grade level and were carefully tailored to the needs of the individual audiences.  Our success in teaching the kindergarten children about the various denominations of currency was proven by the 75% improvement in knowledge on the pre- and post-test scores. The third grade lesson, which featured a cartoon character, demonstrated the purchasing power of money. These children showed a 33% increase in knowledge.

The fourth grade students were given the opportunity to practice these new skills using bank accounts, and the results from this lesson showed a 127% increase in score. High school students learned about interest rates and we held an in-depth discussion about online banking. These students’ knowledge increased 83%.

Fraud Factor

C-SIFE addressed two different targets on the pressing issue of frauds and scams.  Centenary College students discussed how to make their future business be the prestigious organization that they would want it to be by avoiding certain promotions that would make them appear as if they are trying to scam people.  C-SIFE advised of this because we showed how good business practices are good for business.  These future entrepreneurs learned valuable information from this lesson and their knowledge increased by 83%.

This project was also tailored to target senior citizens, who have worked a lifetime to make their savings, and specifically addressed them because it is important that they not be scammed out of their money.  Although the internet is a new vehicle, many senior citizens were already familiar with the concept of certain individuals trying to make quick money.  Through the lesson, the senior citizens learned how to protect themselves by not giving out any personal information and not being intimidated to ask about a company’s information.   Their knowledge increased by 7%.

Ethical Path to Success

C-SIFE identified a need within our community for resume and interviewing skills education, particularly among lower income high school students. To address this need, we prepared a lesson for the twelfth grade students at Dover High School. We emphasized the concept of ethics, and compiled binders for the students, which contained information on finding a job, resume templates, and guidelines for interviewing. 

After being implemented at Dover High School, C-SIFE shifted gears and brought this valuable lesson a little closer to home. Ethical Path to Success was presented to the Centenary College and the audience of 120 students and faculty benefited from this valuable lesson. Our test results showed an increase in knowledge of 20%.

Making it to the Boardroom

C-SIFE introduced an interactive board game to teach the important issues of ethics, social responsibility, and interview skills to high school seniors at Vernon Township.  The students eagerly participated in this game and astutely commented on the issues of ethics.  They contributed information on how they displayed social responsibility to their communities through volunteer work.

The game spurred competitiveness as the students earned points for appropriate behavior and saw the downside to unethical, inappropriate actions.  In addition, the high school students learned how to prepare for a successful interview.  The students’ knowledge increased by 25%.