Alabama A&M Student Wins $5K for Internably Networking App

Bryson Hannah, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering student at Alabama A&M University, won $5,000 for Internably, a networking platform meant to help college interns find peers by location, employer, and school, Black Enterprise reports, citing AfroTech. Hannah claimed first place at Birmingham's 2026 HBCU Business Pitch Competition on Oct. 29, picking up $4,000 for the win plus $1,000 from an earlier round, the outlet says. He says the idea grew out of an internship at Alabama Power, where he had a comfortable place to stay but still struggled to meet other young professionals away from home. Fifty-one teams representing 10 Alabama HBCUs vied for pieces of a $20,000 prize pool. Hosts were The Alabama Collective with digitalundivided; backers named by the outlet include the JPMorganChase Foundation, the HBCU CARES program, and Nebius. Hannah plans to put the prize toward further app development and campus-ambassador marketing ahead of a planned iOS launch in November. Fellow Alabama A&M teams also placed: Fuel Trip took home $3,000 in second, and NexU received $2,000, for $12,000 combined from the school according to Alabama A&M, the outlet notes. The money lesson: spotting a lonely gap in your own internship can become a product other students will pay attention to—and a pitch contest can turn that insight into seed cash without giving up equity.