Pensole Lewis students pitch ideas to design student center
|
Posted By: S. Moore on April 03, 2023 (CBS DETROIT) - Michigan's first and only HBCU is making strides to bring more opportunities for design students, and they're starting with their own campus. Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design is giving students a chance to renovate spaces on school grounds to help creatives draw inspiration. Design students got a chance to pitch their ideas to reimagine the student center while putting their creative and analytical skills. Rodney Banks and Angel Buckens' vision of what a space for students looks like blew judges away. Known as team "Birds of a Feather," the pair was one of three groups presenting designs to makeover the student center. Pepsico and Millerknoll collaborated on the effort to help increase diversity in the design industry. Their model will now become the blueprint for the school's Pepsi Stronger Together Relax and Refresh Lounge. "It definitely was like the hard work and dedication of late night hours, understanding our whole process and how we wanted to implement that and making sure we stayed within that budget that was received and making sure we implemented everything in a nice strategic way," Buckens said. Syndicated radio personality Angela Yee moderated the event where each group was given the task of outlining a design within a $50,000 budget. "The fact that they're going to have on their resume that they designed a Pepsi space, that life experience when you get out of school, to say look, this is what I did with Pepsi, I think that's something that could be life-changing." Pensole Lewis founder Dwayne Edwards says black people account for less than three percent of the design industry and he's working to create more opportunities for inclusion. "From a car to a house to sneakers, to packaging, furniture, we're almost non-existent and you know we have one of the largest spending powers in America," Edwards said. "So, we're consumers of a lot of products and services, but very few of us are doing the work behind the scenes to really bring it authentic and culturally to the consumers that actually want the product." SOURCE CBS News If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest News
 |
This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This is a test.This ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 2 Views • February 13th, 2026 |
 |
Truist Partners with TMCF to Advance Leadership and Career ReadinessTruist is honored to serve as a corporate sponsor the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s (TMCF) signature leadership experience, DevCon – Potomac, held February 18 – 22. This premier event brings ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 188 Views • February 11th, 2026 |
 |
🎤 LAST CHANCE: Earn $50 USD in the Orchid Audio Project⏰ Final Call – Registration Closing Soon
The Orchid Audio Project is almost at capacity, and this is your last opportunity to participate and earn $50 USD for a simple audio recording task.
...more
Yazmín Müller • 102 Views • February 11th, 2026 |
 |
The Memorial Day Getaway's Returns for Its 18th Annual Celebration?A Black Luxury Forward Memorial Day Experience Headlined by 2 Chainz
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic | Memorial Day Weekend
The Memorial Day Getaway returns this Memorial Day Weekend for its 18 ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 210 Views • February 10th, 2026 |
 |
Bethune-Cookman University To Host Inauguration For Dr. Albert D. Mosley On April 14Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) will mark the inauguration of Dr. Albert D. Mosley as its eighth president on Tuesday, April 14, marking a new era of leadership for the historic institution.
Founde ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 225 Views • February 9th, 2026 |
Popular News
 |
North Carolina HBCU Unity DayShaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 104,188 Views • August 8th, 2016 |
