Successful F4 Event Held by Business Division

Palikir, Pohnpei (April 26, 2019) - The Business Administration Division of the College of Micronesia-FSM, with official sponsorship of FSM Development Bank, successfully conducted the Friday Food Fashion Festival (F4) at the Spanish Wall softball field in Kolonia, Pohnpei. The F4, a collaborative project among various college programs and participating private and public sectors of the Federated States of Micronesia, originally began at National Campus in the fall of 2013 with only a few business administration student groups. Over time, it has evolved into one of the local highlights of the year where the community comes together for shopping and entertainment all in one place. The softball field is converted into a festive marketplace with an array offering of food, fashion, and fun. It is a family friendly shoppers’ haven that spans from 4 until 7 o’clock in the evening. Door and raffle prizes are given away while entertaining dances and songs are rendered to the delight of all the attendees. This F4 event was capped off by a fire dance that sent goose bumps through the audience and sealed the overall success of the event.

The F4 was conceptualized to accomplish the following goals: (1) foster integration among program major courses through synchronized, complementary, and collaborative projects in order to improve the overall student learning experience and meet program learning outcomes, and (2) use the resulting information from the projects as material for authentic program assessments.

Business Administration Program Learning Outcome No. 1 requires students to “demonstrate basic knowledge and skills in the different functional areas of business by emphasizing their importance in an organization and describing their interrelationship in the organization’s attempt to achieve its objectives.” The F4 is just such an activity to achieve these goals.

With a total of 45 booths, participants included students from the Business Division at National Campus, The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), the Career & Technical Education Center (CTEC), and various local businesses. The Business Division had more than 100 students contributing to the development of 18 student-operated businesses as they took courses in the introduction to business, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, and finance. The Center for Entrepreneurship, along with its 22 Associates, showcased 10 student-led businesses. Students from the Career & Technical Education Center (CTEC) taking courses in electronics and telecommunication also participated by selling various products. Outside of the college community, numerous business entities were on site with various products for sale, such as FSMTC, Fusion, LP Gas, Indigenous Roots, Snowii’s, Pohnpei Surf Club, Kaselehlie Island Mart, and CIE Market.

To encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, student-led business groups competed for cash prizes, sponsored by Bank of FSM, in the following categories: Most Innovative Product, Best Booth/Table Design, and Best Customer Service. Event judges recognized excellent accomplishments as follows: Most Innovative Product Category and Best Booth/Table Design Category both won by M&M Micronesian Crafts, and Best Customer Service Category won by LemonAid Mouth.

The success of the Spring 2019 F4 would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. The official Spring 2019 F4 Sponsor is FSM Development Bank, in honor of celebrating 40 years of service to the FSM. Other sponsors include the Chinese Embassy, FSMTC, COM-FSM Vice-President for Instructional Affairs Office, Bank of FSM, Blacksand Co., FSM Postal Services, Micronesia Registration Advisors, ACE Office Supplies, Mesenieng Credit Union, Pohnpei Sports Commission, CTSI Logistics, R.S. Roque Commercial Arts, COM-FSM Bookstore, Island Advertisement, 4-T Yamaguchi, and Kaselehlie Island Mart. These generous organizations provided financial and material support that made the event a huge success.