Durham, North Carolina — Senior graphic design student Maurice Wallace participated in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s (TMCF) annual contest “The Pitch 2019”. The four-day interactive conference challenges HBCU students to put their entrepreneurial skills to the test.
Within four days, students are to use critical thinking to create an IOS app and find solutions for business, social or educational problems. Teams presented their ideas at the “Pitch and Win” competition to an expert group of panelists.
Wallace and his teammates designed an app that fell under the educational umbrella. Their app had to create a curriculum and personalized routine for sports players to help them become better athletes and obtain scholarships. Although Wallace and his team did not win, he credits the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication for helping him even when he felt like giving up.
“SJGC [and] Professor Gill has helped me to keep going,” says Wallace.” Without his help giving me the proper foundation and challenging my creative process, I don’t think I would have experienced this event.”
He continued, saying “I am grateful for the staff that has uplifted me when I didn’t want to continue pursuing my dreams. Their effort made all of the difference.”
Wallace says he is also an ACT House Fellow based on Professor Gill pushing him to apply. ACT House is a 12-month fellowship where students live and create startups. ACT house is a program partner with TMCF and was founded by a FAMU alumnus.
Months after the competition Wallace is still putting his skills and the connections he’s made to the test as he continues to work on his own startup, “Gourmet Pup Club”, a personalized health and wellness subscription for dog lovers.
