Team to represent the US in Kazakhstan
The university chapter of Enactus, a network of leaders focused on social and environmental impact, will represent the United States in the entrepreneurial organization’s World Cup 2024 Oct. 2 to 4 in Kazakhstan.
Each year, the group attends the USA Expo 2024 hosted by Enactus in different cities across the country.
The team won the national competition, which was held at the University of Texas at Austin last year, and qualified for the world cup.
Maria Leonard, assistant professor of practice in the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, is the faculty adviser for Enactus.
Leonard first got involved in Enactus in the 1980s when she was a student at legacy institution University of Texas-Pan American.
In October 2015, when Leonard started teaching full time, she restarted the chapter on the UTRGV campus.
“I decided to restart the chapter because it had done a lot of things for my own development,” she said.
As the faculty adviser, Leonard provides guidance and continuity while helping students navigate networking opportunities they need in order to make their projects grow.
She said the team has been working many hours in preparation for the competition in Kazakhstan.
“They are very, very committed to representing the United States and our institution,” Leonard said.
She said the team will participate in a culture fair, where each team at the competition will showcase cultural items from its country.
Leonard said deciding what to bring to the culture fair was difficult.
“It’s tricky because we’re Hispanic,” she said. “But we’re not really Mexican, like, we’re representing the United States, not Mexico.”
The adviser said the team decided to bring small cowboy hats and American candy to the fair.
Leonard said she did not expect the team to advance this far.
“In the past, Enactus only really rewarded teams that competed with international projects,” she said. “Our students always made the conscious choice to work on projects that affect our community.”
Leonard said she believes, this year, the judges had a different directive that prioritized social impact over international reach, which allowed the team to win the national competition.
Isaac Salas, a marketing senior and the organization’s historian, said he joined Enactus after witnessing his brother’s professional growth while he was a member.
Salas said participating in the competition is stressful.
“It’s a stressful fun, though,” he said. “Being in the speaker position … you get to stand in a room of, like, 300 people.”
Salas said the team is working hard to prepare and memorize the presentations for the world competition.
“We have to do a lot of practice, memorizing the lines and making sure that it’s, like, drilled into our head, that we can confidently present without having any errors or mistakes in our presentation,” he said.
Salas said the biggest strength of the team is conducting community projects locally rather than elsewhere.
“The work that we’re doing directly impacts our community,” he said.
Alheli Mondragon, a business administration graduate student and president of the team, said she first got involved with the team after volunteering at a Thanksgiving food drive.
Mondragon said the team is working on writing scripts and preparing an annual report to present to judges.
“It’s a team effort,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, actually, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Mondragon said the biggest strength of the team is its commitment.
“If we didn’t have this [commitment], I don’t think we would’ve gotten this far,” she said.
The Enactus president said what she looks forward to the most about competing in the Central Asian country is being exposed to new cultures.
“Seeing all the cultures that are gonna be there, it’s 33 other countries,” she said. “I’m a big fan about learning about new cultures and new languages, so I’m excited to go abroad.”
Mondragon encourages students to join and take on the club’s community projects.
“We really need to work on our recruitment in terms of getting new members because a lot of us on the team are seniors,” she said. “We really want these projects to continue on for as long as we can.”
Cody Sanchez, an entrepreneurship and innovation senior, will compete as a speaker for the team.
Sanchez said he got involved in Enactus as a freshman when he attended a club meeting after hearing about the free food they were handing out.
He is excited to represent the U.S., especially the Rio Grande Valley.
“Representing the U.S. as well as our Mexican heritage, it’s really cool to go over there and do that,” Sanchez said.
He is preparing by remembering to have fun while practicing.
“Just knowing that once you speak, you put the practice in, you put the work in,” Sanchez said. “You just trust that.”
He said his participation in the team has helped him develop soft skills.
“Some people go to college and don’t know anything else rather than go to class and go back home,” Sanchez said. “When you’re in Enactus, you actually get involved in the community.”
Students interested in joining Enactus may do so through V Link and by accessing the WhatsApp chat on linktr.ee/enactusrgv.
