Imagine having a plan to make the world a better place, but you have to explain it in a minute and a half.
That was precisely the challenge for dozens of AU students this month.
The Kogod School of Business’ inaugural Changemaker Challenge, hosted by the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship, brought together first-year undergraduate and first-year graduate students for a competition centered around enacting meaningful social change.
The event, which culminated with a change-driven pitch competition, called on students to share their concrete, actionable ideas for making a social impact.
The catch? They’d have just 90 seconds—no slides or props—to make their case.
The undergrad-versus-undergrad, graduate-against-graduate competition had cash on the line: $2,000 for the winners and $500 for the runners up.
To prepare, contestants first gathered on October 4 for an interactive workshop aimed at helping students build public speaking confidence and honing strategies for effective storytelling that creates compelling message.
The workshop also served as a chance to drill down on the type of societal impact judges would be interested in hearing.
October 7 was pitch day.
In front of seven faculty judges, contestants made their elevator pitches for how they’d implement meaningful change.
Jesús Zorrilla, CAS ‘27, a biology major, earned top honors as the undergraduate winner.
A native of New Orleans, Zorrilla presented a plan centered around sustainable architecture, demonstrating the need for deeper research into fungal-based building materials to replace more traditional bricks and concrete.
Researchers—Zorrilla among them—have increasingly studied how mycelium, the building blocks of mushrooms, might be used to make a variety of commercial products in the future in the interest of sustainability.
For Zorrilla, the idea was decidedly personal, having seen, firsthand, the devastating effects of natural disasters —most notably Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Ida (2021).
“You watch houses of your best friends, destroyed; the rooms are torn off, the streets are unusable. This idea that we need some sort of sustainable architecture, it’s a very prevalent aspect of my life,” Zorrilla said.
Of course, studying the problem and having a well-researched plan is one thing. Conveying the impact to a panel of judges in 90 seconds, no less, is another.