Four members of the Center of Financial Advancement (CFA) program at Alabama State University will travel to Costa Mesa, California, to compete in the finale of the If You Know, You Know (IYKYK) Pitch Competition. They will pitch their ideas against other students from two historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from Feb. 27 to March 3.
The CFA’s goal is to equip college students with financial management skills. Gwen Shelton, coordinator of Career Services Programs, is the liaison for the CFA at the university. The CFA partners with credit reporting company Experian, which created the competition. The competition requires CFA members from HBCUs to evolve an existing Experian campaign so it appeals to the younger generation.
The students representing the university are Favour Nwanekzi, a sophomore biomedical engineering major; George-Michael Kondoun, a sophomore computer science major; Dami Mike-Adeogun, a sophomore finance major; and Anyla Harrington, a freshman accounting and finance major. Kondoun is the only student competing again this year.
Last year, the university was runner-up to Fisk University. This year, the university will compete against Fisk again, as well as Grambling State University.
Kondoun says that he believes the loss last year was because he “did not go beyond,” and he was “just following the rule book.” He said, “We (four members) did not want to do average. We wanted to do our best and do something that nobody else did.”
The students will spend five days at Experian’s North American headquarters in California.
Sabrina C. Simmons, assistant vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Student Development and Engagement, says, “It is a very intense four to five days for the students.”
Members of the global Experian organization, who remain unknown until the students arrive, will judge the competitors. Experian awards up to $40,000 for first place, and second- and third-place winners can win up to $10,000 each. All money earned goes to the students to be split among their teams.
The students representing the university met for 20 hours a week for five months. They mesh their individual ideas daily and research Experian campaigns to determine the best way to improve their work.
Harrington said, “I expect to win. We worked very hard for this, and we put a lot of time and a little bit of everything into it.”
Kondoun says the competition is “very versatile” because it incorporates different skills and does not just benefit majors relating to finance and marketing.
This competition teaches Experian executives as much as it teaches the students. They learn ways to better connect with the younger generation and get them interested in their credit scores and financial decisions.
This competition does not just teach students about financial and marketing skills.
“I wanted to push myself and challenge myself to do something I have never done before,” Mike-Adeogun said. “Throughout the process, it has definitely taught me things about myself I did not know.”
