A new student organization, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), was started this semester by senior Pranav Dogra to inspire change.

“The theme is social entrepre­neurship and involves business, non-profits and environmental sustain­ability,” said Dogra, a business and computer information systems major at UW - Stevens Point. “It’s about motivating students with different majors, not only business majors but a variety of majors, and basically trying to do something useful that pertains to the community, pertains to change, and making something prof­itable and making something good.”

Dogra contacted SIFE, an inter­national non-profit organization, to set up a UWSP chapter after realizing there wasn’t anything on campus that fit what he was looking for.

“I’ve been involved with a lot of student organizations and I wanted to start something on my own,” Dogra said. “I wanted to make a difference and change something so I researched different themes and organizations with entrepreneurship aspects and I found SIFE.”

SIFE projects include sustainabil­ity efforts locally and globally.

“The basic mission is the three P’s: planet, people and profit. It encompasses certain subjects which can improve things within the com­munity or minor changes within the planet; it involves people and there’s a profit to be seen,” Dogra said.

Dogra pointed to a project in Kenya where SIFE members secured the transportation of water during a drought and planted trees as an example of the type of action pro­moted by the organization. Dogra also said there are other benefits to SIFE besides assisting in local and global socioeconomic projects. These include travel and scholarship oppor­tunities, as well as networking with possible employers.

“All you get are benefits out of working with SIFE. A lot of corpo­rate sponsors are associated with this organization and the students involved with it show exceptional leadership qualities. So when busi­nesses see that you are affiliated with it, they can pay serious attention to that,” Dogra said.

Dogra believes that the broad appeal of SIFE will draw students to the organization.

“This club appeals to everyone. You can be a music major and if you have the passion of making change and if you find an issue that you think can get a bunch of folks around you to participate in, the SIFE interna­tional chapter will provide you with the resources in order to make that change,” Dogra said.

While still in the process of recruiting members for SIFE, Dogra has reached out to the Greenhouse Project in Stevens Point and the biolo­gy department on campus looking for possible local environmental projects.

“By the time I end my university career, students around here should know about this organization, even if they aren’t involved in it but should know what it encompasses, what its theme is, and what students can do in it,” said Dogra.

SIFE had its first meeting last month and is actively looking for new members. Their next open house will be sometime in mid-October. Students interested in learning more can contact UWSP SIFE President Pranav Dogra at pdogra@uwsp.edu.