CSU, Chico News

Sixteen high school teams from across California will travel to California State University, Chico on April 29 to compete in a contest based on entrepreneurship and community service.

The Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) is a program that promotes entrepreneurship and community service by linking university students from across the world to secondary schools in their area.

Curt DeBerg, professor of business administration at CSU, Chico, is the founder of SAGE. "California was the first state to participate," DeBerg said. "Now SAGE has grown to include seven other states and 11 countries. This year, the winner of this event will advance to a national competition in New York City, and the winner of that event will compete in the SAGE World Cup, which will take place in Shanghai in August."

Last year's California SAGE winner was Benicia High School. Benicia High School's teacher and advisor to the school's SAGE team said, "SAGE provides students the opportunity to gain confidence and poise as they present their projects. My students are excited to defend their title!"

One of Benicia's returning students, senior David Billing, said, "Being part of last year's SAGE competition improved my leadership skills. I have learned so much about being part of a team, never giving up and the social responsibility of businesses."

The three main sponsors of California SAGE include the Allstate Foundation, Walgreens and Bank of the West.

Shelly Taliani, who represents the Allstate Foundation in California, was one of the judges last year. "This program aligns with Allstate's goal to make economic resources and knowledge accessible to the community. By teaching young people financial literacy and economics, they will be empowered to make informed decisions regarding their financial security throughout their lives. I look forward to judging again this year."

Allstate provides a $10,000 grant to CSU, Chico to support the program.

Other local sponsors include Deloitte Touche, Chico Enterprise-Record, Grilla Bites, Jamba Juice, Lotspeich Accountancy, Ray Morgan Company, RSC Associates, Round Table Pizza/Sisco Enterprises, Starbucks, Tri-Counties Bank, Umpqua Bank and Wells Fargo.

For more information about SAGE or to volunteer as a judge for the competition, vist the website.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 12th, 2006 at 8:30 am and is filed under 2006 Spring.