Newsroom

For the eighth consecutive year, the Raritan Valley Community College Enactus team was named Regional League Champion at the Enactus Regional Competition, held March 31 in Washington, DC.

Enactus is an international organization of student teams, guided by academic and business leaders, that creates and implements entrepreneurial projects that empower people to transform opportunities into real, sustainable progress. The group also helps students develop the kind of talent and perspective that are essential to leadership in an ever-more complicated and challenging world.

The 2016-2017 RVCC team showcased three of its projects and was represented by presenting team members Kristine Bulava (Basking Ridge), Johny Zenone (Middlesex), Victor David Gibbs (Montgomery Township), Samantha Fegely (Pittstown), Madeleine Nasta (Frenchtown), Nicholas Larosa (Asbury), and Elijah Shabazz (Bernardsville).

The Enactus members were honored for a business venture created by the team’s engineering and business students. The project featured turning a “shake light” flashlight prototype into a viable brand that could support the most vulnerable in the community and also serve the customer. The project teaches students an invaluable skillset in supply chain concepts, including how to manufacture and price a product from raw materials to end consumer using green technology.

Partnering with the Community Food Bank of NJ, the Enactus team also worked with a cooperative purchasing model and raised funds to assist 500 families in the local community, providing over 31,000 meals. In addition, the team secured $5,000 in grants to purchase hydroponic towers in order to grow food indoors throughout the year. Students grew fresh produce using sustainable technologies, acquiring skills that will be transferable to employment and community integration activities.

Enactus RVCC also has provided consulting services to small businesses, teaching youth how to run a bike shop, and helping local women build their social assets.

The team now advances to compete at the Enactus USA 2017 National Exposition, which will be held May 21-23 in Kansas City, MO. The winner of that competition will represent the USA in September at the Enactus World Cup in London, England.

RVCC Enactus members consist of a wide variety of majors, including business, engineering and criminal justice. This diversity of disciplines provides a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills acquired through coursework and extracurricular activities that are essential to Enactus economic development initiatives.

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development, and adult and youth personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 20, 2017

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #164