Norfolk State University News December 19, 2019 CONGRATULATIONS TO NIA VARGAS OF ROLLING JUICES ON HER PITCH CONTEST WIN! Dean Glenn Carrington and the staff of the NSU Innovation Center are excited to announce that Nia Vargas, a participant of the Center's Early Stage Business Strategy and Finance Workshops with Mr. Jim Franklin, won Black Brand's Wealth Machine Pitch Contest during its Black Diamond Weekend event for local entrepreneurs. In an interview with Dr. Rhonda Alexander, Ms. Vargas described her passion for fresh, healthy drinks and foods, which she ultimately desires to see made available to everyone. Her business, Rolling Juices, will launch in 2020 to provide plant-based milk and cold-pressed juices via a custom, zero-emissions food truck that runs off solar and electric energy. During the interview, Ms. Vargas expressed her deep love for people and the environment and her desire to be a difference-maker for both. As the winner of the contest, Ms. Vargas will receive $10,000 in start-up funding and three years of consulting with various business professionals at no cost. With these invaluable resources, along with the information she's received from the NSU Innovation Center, Ms. Vargas says she feels fully supported in her quest to be impactful. She explained that her experience with the Innovation Center has felt "family-based" and the topics have been "relevant", teaching her the fundamentals she needed to understand her business's finances and prepare her to effectively pitch her idea to investors. We celebrate Ms. Vargas' accomplishments and wish her continued success in her business! For more information about the Innovation Center or how you can receive assistance with your business idea, contact the Program Director, Akosua Acheamponmaa (aacheamponmaa@nsu.edu<mailto:aacheamponmaa@nsu.edu> or call 757-917-7886). SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/