Mary Jo Tilley's Grandson Mat Tilley Participates in Texas State SIFE

 (San Marcos, Texas – Sept. 18, 2008)  The Texas State University-San Marcos Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team placed in the “Final Four” teams out of a field of over 140 teams who had advanced to the national competition.  Over 900 teams initially competed at the regional level.  The Texas State University SIFE team had previously won their regional competition for the eleventh straight year.  The U.S.A. national champion was the University of Arizona, followed by LaSierra University, Graceland University and Texas State University-San Marcos.    One of the highlights of the competition was the recognition of Ms. Lidia Robles of Robles International, as the “Outstanding Business Advisory Board Member” in the United States.  Ms. Robles, a Texas State alumnae on the International Championship SIFE team in 2000, was instrumental in the creation and success of the signature outreach project for the Texas State SIFE team in the 2007-2008 year.    In the individual topic competition category, which measures the content of each university’s program, Texas State SIFE brought home the first place trophy for Criterion 4, covering financial literacy skills.  A complex topic covering how to find start-up capital for new businesses, “Capital Search” is an interactive computer game which explains the seven major funding sources for finding start-up capital for entrepreneurs.    Angela Bertero, past President of Texas State SIFE, was also one of only five students nationally honored with a $1,000. scholarship for her leadership role in the Texas State SIFE organization. Brittany Fiedler was the presentation team captain, and presentation team members were:  William Payne, Rian Beaudoin, Michael Huddleston, Matt Batten, Lauren Peterson.  Texas State Student Mat Tilley of Arlington Texas, received a certificate for his participation in Texas State SIFE.  Mat is the grandson of longtime Hobbs’ resident Marilyn (Mary Jo) Tilley.    In addition to competition, Texas State SIFE students had the opportunity to interview for jobs and internships from Fortune 500 companies, many receiving multiple offers.  The Texas State students have had a great deal of success at the national career fair, and many former students are employed throughout the country as a result of their involvement with the organization.  Sponsoring companies such as Waste Management, Nestles, Frito-Lay, Del Labs, Finish Line, Campbells and others regularly seek Texas State SIFE students for employment with their companies.    SIFE is a non-profit organization active on more than 1500 college and university campuses in 47 countries, involving 38,000 students in their outreach projects.  SIFE works in partnership with business and higher education to provide students the opportunity to make a difference and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.    For more information, contact: Vicki West at 512-245-3224 or vw03@txstate.edu  National information:  www.sife.org or 1-800-235-9585 – Nancy Ellis