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A four-student team from North Carolina A&T State University earned top honors at the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, an academic competition between students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
This is the twenty-seventh year N. C. A&T has participated in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge and the first year it has won the national championship.
The team was coached by Professor Byron Turman and includes team captain Malkam Hawkins, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, Frances Kendrick, a freshman majoring in nursing, Mitchell Wilson, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, and Samara Daniels, a junior majoring in criminal justice (not in photo).
"This win shows the dedication of our team, and that with hard work and patience, you can succeed," said Samara. "This win also shows that my university has helped produce smart students and an amazingly talented HCASC team."
More than 300 students from 64 HBCUs participated in this year's virtual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge program. Each year, Honda awards more than $390,000 in institutional grants to participating HBCUs.
Runner-up Florida A&M University was awarded a $30,000 institutional grant, while the third and fourth place finishers – Morehouse College and Alabama A&M University – each received $20,000 grants. Rounding out the eight teams that competed in the finals, held April 18-20, were Bowie State University, Lincoln University-Pennsylvania, North Carolina Central University, and Oakwood University.
"Honda congratulates North Carolina A&T State University for its impressive achievement and applauds all of the student competitors and coaches who made this year's HCASC National Championship Tournament an exciting experience," said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Office of Inclusion and Diversity at American Honda. "We also thank the volunteers – many of whom are dedicated HCASC alumni and Honda associates – for helping us continue the longstanding HCASC tradition of celebrating HBCU excellence."
Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a year-round knowledge-based program that brings together top HBCU students and showcases their academic talents on a national stage. The students answer questions about history, science, literature, religion, the arts, and pop culture.