A video game raising mental health awareness won University of Baltimore’s Attman Competition

A video game company that raises awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder took home the top prize from the the University of Baltimore’s Leonard and Phyllis Attman Competitive Business Prize Competition on Tuesday.

Willow Hendershot pitched for the win with Prevail, a video game that’s designed to guide a player through the experiences of someone experiencing PTSD. It’s the first in a series of video games.
Along with the competition, Hendershot said the event itself helped to demonstrate impact.
“It really validated my ideas and my research—not just winning, but the amount of people that approached me throughout the event and told me their stories of dealing with their mental illness,” Hendershot said in a statement.

We did it! First place and seed funding for our first equipment! Thank you to @EubieBee and the CEI for all of the support. Thanks especially to the audience members kind enough to share their stories afterwards. You are strong and you will prevail. #Videogame #newgame #demosoon pic.twitter.com/5XhVVZakqP

— PREVAIL (@PrevailTheGame) November 14, 2018

The competition, organized by UB’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, brings together entrepreneurs from across the university to showcase the companies that students are creating, no matter their major.
In all, $5,000 in prize money was awarded on the night. Winners also included:
Charmony Naturals won second place. Brittany Whitby and Demi Abromaitis developed a line of hemp-based cosmetics. They earned $1,000.
Kareema McLendon who created a fashion startup to sell bridal gowns for women ages 30-50, won the Crowdie Favorite, earning $750.
The Hustle Award went to Crystal Santiful. Her fashion startup Chrystal Tutu Paradise won praise from Pitch Creator founder Jason Tagler, who presented a jar of $20 bills totaling $500 for showing the most improvement.
Also pitching on the night were:

• Brianna Billups pitched Fully Grown, a business seeking to eradicate food deserts. As attendees mingled, her salads provided the nutrients and flavor.
• Mikita Thompson founded The Party Room, a fully equipped event hall.