Students Gain Deeper Understanding of Marginalized Communities
Students Return from Moguls in the Making Pitch Competition
AAMU students are back on campus after competing in the Fifth Annual Ally and Thurgood Marshall College Fund Moguls in the Making Pitch Competition Sept. 6-10 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(L-R) Sophomore Lyric Sampson, computer science; Senior Samarion Flowers, urban and regional planning; Junior Jonae Cameron, environmental science; and Freshman Simukuka Akakandelwa, computer science, joined 60 students from 15 HBCUs to develop business plans to solve economic problems in their community and pitch them to a distinguished panel of judges.
“Our team's specific industry was Health and Wellness. We had to discover a health and wellness problem in Charlotte and solve it through the lens of economic mobility. We discovered an underserved demographic in the area of mental health, and pitched a community initiative that utilized mobile mental health units to bring free services like therapy to specific areas in the city,” said Lyric Sampson.
Though AAMU didn’t win the top prize this year, each student received a $1,000 scholarship, took part in workshops, worked with mentors and spent time with colleagues from other HBCUs.
“My biggest takeaway from Moguls in the Making is a deeper understanding of economic mobility regarding marginalized and minority communities specifically in Charlotte, and how lack of economic mobility has led to issues such as displacement and gentrification," said Samarion Flowers. “I am forever indebted to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for the countless opportunities they have given me to learn, grow, and be surrounded by so many talented and inquisitive scholars.I am also thankful for my team! I am so proud of our journey from beginning to end. The best prize was being able to successfully present our idea as a team and represent Alabama A&M University in the best way.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and learned so much. Ally and Charlotte Historians showed us that in the past, property owners explicitly wrote in deeds that people of color weren't permitted to live in certain areas, which heavily impacted the resources available to them and affects us to this day,” added Sampson. “The real prize lies in the lessons, advice, and network that I gained just by being there. I’m happy to be Mogul Made.”