Washington Adventist University Enactus Team Placed Second in the Opening Round at the Enactus National Expo in St. Louis

Takoma Park, Maryland (May 18, 2016) The Washington Adventist University (WAU) Enactus team placed second in their league in the Opening Round at the 2016 Enactus National Expo this week in St. Louis, Missouri. The university was ranked on the success of projects that resolved local problems by creatively applying business strategies. As a national finalist, the Washington Adventist University team is now ranked in the top 40 out of 443 colleges and universities.

In the May 15 opening ceremony of the national competition, the WAU team received a first place trophy for its Sam’s Club Step Up for Small Business project and a third place trophy for its Walmart Women’s Economic Empowerment project. A finalist plaque was awarded to Washington Adventist University for its Unilever project.

Last fall, the university earned a $2,100 grant from Sam’s Club, a $1,500 grant from Walmart and a $1,500 grant from Unilever for its projects. In the national competition, the team earned an additional $6,000 for its Sam’s Club project — $1,000 as a finalist and $5,000 for first place. For the Walmart project, the team earned $3,000 for third place; and for the Unilever project, the team earned $1,000 as a finalist. Additional earnings included $1,000 for placing second in the league, and $1,000 for participating in the regional championship, which was held March 29 in Washington, D.C. and qualified the team to participate in the National Expo.

In the regional competition, the Washington Adventist University Enactus students presented to a group of judges the ten projects they initiated to help struggling business owners overcome challenges and find success. The projects included the Flower Face Lift project, focused on helping immigrant families and businesses, a small business symposium on branding, and a tutoring program for kindergarten to fifth-graders where children receive homework help while parents do their laundry.

Last year, the Washington Adventist University Enactus team placed third in the Sam’s Club project. During the 2015-2016 school year, 35 students volunteered more than 3,500 hours on the various projects to help the community.

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Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s eight graduate and 41 undergraduate programs. The 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.

Media Contacts:

Angie Crews, 301-891-4134, acrews@wau.edu

Donna Bigler, 240-286-1169, dbigler@wau.edu