BSU Students Aim for $50K Prize in HBCU Business Challenge

Seven-member Team to Participate in 24-hour Collegiate Contest

(BOWIE, Md.) – Participating in Bowie State University’s HBCU Battle of the Brains team, seven students will combine technology and business skills to compete for a $50,000 prize against 29 teams from other historically black colleges and universities at the SXSW Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas.

From March 7-10, the students participate in a 24-hour business competition and tour the headquarters of top tech firms, as well as attend part of the SXSW Conference. As part of the 3^rd annual competition, the teams will receive a real-world challenge and pitch their idea to a panel of business experts. The judges will narrow the field to the Final Four who will compete to take home the grand prize of $50,000 for their HBCU.

“It’s absolutely amazing for Bowie State to have its first team ever to compete in the HBCU Battle of the Brains,” said Provost DeBrenna Agbenyiga. “I am so excited for these students because I know that they have what it takes to do an outstanding job there.

Led by Jainaba Ceesay, who teaches entrepreneurship courses in the College of Business, the team members are:

• Ahmed Ashkar (co-captain), sophomore computer science major
• Shanell Powell (co-captain), senior business administration and communications major
• Ayomide Akinkugbe, student in the Master of Business Administration degree program
• Rita Dill, junior biology major
• Brian Hill, senior business administration major
• Debora Louis, senior psychology major
• Nathan Nti, senior computer science major

The students could not contain their excitement as they prepared to board a BSU bus Wednesday to head to the airport. “This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. We really do believe that this will put Bowie State in a different place than we’ve been before,” said Powell. “We’ve really been able to reflect on all the classes that we’ve taken, all the experiences we’ve had. It’s an amalgamation of all that we’ve been through. It’s going to be a manifestation of the hard work we’ve put in.

“It was amazing working with the team, one of the best experiences I have ever had. Working across disciplines, and seeing how everyone’s input truly matters and that we can only reach success with everyone’s opinions, was remarkable.”

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, criminal justice, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit www.bowiestate.edu.