Flagler finishes in top 8 at 2014 Enactus expo

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Flagler’s Enactus team finished in the top 8 of the 2014 Enactus USA National Exposition in Cincinnati.

• Flagler Enactus members work with Dr. Peter Merkel from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to set up the team's aquaponics program.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (04/03/2014)(readMedia)-- Flagler College's Enactus team finished in the top 8 of the 2014 Enactus USA National Exposition in Cincinnati.

"Our team was exceptional in the final 20 but came in second in our very tough league," said Enactus co-adviser Donna DeLorenzo. "We are very proud of our students' accomplishments this year and we are pleased to be one of the top 8 teams in the country."

Moving on in the competition were Roberts Wesleyan College, Heritage University, Belmont University and Texas State University-San Marcos.

This year, Flagler Enactus focused its team projects on the St. Johns Juvenile Residential Facility, where two out of three youths return within three years of being released. The team has been working with the facility for three years on helping the young men housed there with educational, job and social skills through unique, transformative projects.

Flagler students have spent more than 3,000 hours with the facility, received $91,000 in grants, created nine education, certification and life skill programs, and awarded 85 certifications to residents of the facility.

Flagler Enactus projects with the facility include:

• Art Works, a motivational program offering youths an outlet for self-expression and social skills development. Residents of the St. Johns center created four murals at the facility, as well as postcards sold in the college's Flagler's Legacy store.

• Prison Fit, a vocational fitness program that encourages inmates to become fit physically and emotionally, while also earning certification in CPR.

• Gateway to Haven, a unique 7-week therapy program using horses to teach life skills like teamwork, anger-management and personal accountability.

• Career Kitchen, a hands-on culinary instruction and certification program with local chefs and the First Coast Technical College. Twelve certifications have been awarded in food sanitation and management.

• Cable Ready, a certification program in copper, telecommunication and fiber optic cabling that prepares participants for careers in the telecommunication industry.

The Enactus team has also started Room to Grow, a learning tool using Aquaponics, an environmentally sustainable food production system that produces a large quantity of fish and plants in a relatively small space. The system requires minimal use of energy, chemicals and water and has the potential to produce 200 pounds of fish and 2,000 heads of lettuce annually.

The program to date has been awarded $12,000 in grants.

The Enactus USA National Exposition in Cincinnati, Ohio, featured more than 200 chapters of Enactus, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on entrepreneurship. Flagler College has won the title in 2004, 2009 and 2013.

Enactus, formerly Students in Free Enterprise, is an international nonprofit organization active on more than 1,500 university campuses in 39 countries. Enactus teams create economic opportunities in their communities be organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial skills and business ethics. Enactus teaches students the positive power of businesses through service learning. For more information, visit www.enactusunitedstates.org/events/national_exposition, or visit enactus.org.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.