Seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) entered — and one emerged victoriously.
In a press release announcement, it was revealed that five Spelman students won $1 million in the Goldman Sachs “Market Madness” competition. The release confirms that the winning five student team competed against seven other teams from seven other HBCUs to, ultimately, “take home the gold.”
Britney Kwakye, Gia Tejeda, Whitney Williams, Anisah Thomas, and Caroline Whitfield were the five Spelman students on the so-called “Goldman Sachs Dream Team.”
They competed against students from Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Prairie View A&M University.
This was the first year of the Goldman Sachs “Market Madness” competition, but from the looks of things, it won’t be the last.
According to the official website for the competition, the program offers a “semester-long virtual crash course in key financial concepts which includes a stipend for participating students and culminates in a case study competition and the opportunity to win prize funding for colleges and universities.”
At the end of the competition, the teams were required to participate in a case study competition where the winner would earn funding for their school, and all the participants were eligible for stipends.
Ultimately, each student will take home $10,000 in stipends, which is quite a nice consolation prize.
But for the Spelman students who emerged victoriously, the pride was palpable and justified.
“Words can’t begin to describe how proud I am of myself and my teammates,” said Tejeda, in the press release announcement. “It has been an honor to represent our beloved institution. I often remind myself of the idea that if your dreams don’t scare you, dream bigger. And, while this was a big dream, I remained steadfast in my faith, believed in myself, and always reassured my team that we’d take home the prize. This one is for the home team!”
