Courtesy of Bowie State University
Four Bowie State University business students went to southern California for the Experianâs #IYKYK Pitch Competition and brought back $40,000 for a winning plan for a business venture that would help students pay off their student loan debt within five years of graduation.âŻÂ
Co-sponsored by the Center for Financial Advancement Credit Academy, the second annual competition was designed to drive meaningful change to one of the biggest financial challenges for young adults: student loans.Â
Taylor Payton, Jazmin Feliz, Lauren Kelly and Calvin Charles defeated teams from North Carolina A&T and Alabama State University during the competitionâs final round, held February 28. The competition began with 21 teams from 12 HBCUs.âŻThe BSU students, all part of the Center for Financial Advancement (CFA) Scholars program, pitched their app, Lotus Wallet, which is designed to help users develop a financial plan for tackling their debt.⯠It offers both human and AI financial advisors and prediction calculators. Â
âWe just got together and asked whatâs something that could be easy to learn,â said Payton, a junior business administration major with a marketing concentration. âWe just implemented education and applying it to financial literacy in real-life.ââŻÂ
The students werenât surprised that they made it to the final round of competition, even though this was the first year Bowie State participated in the Experian challenge. They said that making it this far demonstrates the creativity and intellectual prowess of Bowie State and shows they can compete against the bigger schools that were featured in the competition.Â
âItâs showing that we have true scholars here at Bowie State. Weâre creating true leaders and innovative thinkers here,â said Charles, a masterâs in public administration student. âI have student loans already, so this (prize) money is going to be my way of paying down my debt and getting done within my five years,ââŻâŻÂ
âI enjoyed working with my team,â added Payton. âIf Experian does decide to pursue this app, itâs going to change a lot of lives.ââŻÂ
The team also hopes the competition shines a spotlight on the work thatâs taking place in the CFA program.âŻâŻÂ
âI hope this encourages more people to apply for the Center for Financial Advancement,â said Payton. âItâs an earn-to-learn program. Each scholar gets a stipend. A college student could always use extra money, and weâre also learning about home ownership, the credit industry and career readiness.ââŻÂ