The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Enactus team earned third place in the Unilever Bright Futures Project Accelerator competition at the national Enactus conference, which was held virtually.

Enactus is an entrepreneurial and service club for college students.

UNG's Enactus students participated in a variety of sustainability projects during the past year that led to the honor. With the initial $1,500 accelerator grant from Unilever, the UNG Enactus group purchased two recycling centers for the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK) museum in Gainesville, Georgia. It also set up a passive irrigation system with recycled bottles at INK.

Enactus students then learned how to make reusable bags out of old T-shirts and jewelry out of recycled products, with the intent to share those lessons at Hall County School District schools. UNG's Enactus also aims to help increase recycling in Hall schools.

The top-three finish earned UNG's Enactus group a $3,000 prize to further its efforts. The Sustainability Club and Students for Environmental Awareness have both committed to assist Enactus.

"I'm very proud of each member of our team," said Jesse Carrillo, a Gainesville, Georgia, resident who was president of UNG's Enactus and a May 2020 graduate with a degree in finance. "We put a lot of hard work into this."

Katie Simmons, associate dean for undergraduate programs for the Mike Cottrell College of Business, serves as faculty adviser for Enactus.