This summer, Blanca Burch went through Academy Venture after learning about the program from Leah Hernandez, a long-time Praxis Academy champion and Host Team member. Through the program, Blanca learned from established practitioners in the Praxis community and grew her imagination of how to build her venture in a redemptive way. Culturally Kreative publishes children’s books that better represent people of color, beginning with their recent release of Who Has Hair Like Mine?

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During one Academy session, Blanca recognized Hadiyah Mujhid, Founder of HBCUvc, on the list of mentors because she had been following HBCUvc’s programs for some time. HBCUvc selects college-aged Fellows enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities based on their high potential for leadership and a demonstrated commitment to shifting the narrative of entrepreneurship and venture capital. After a productive roundtable discussion, Blanca emailed Hadiyah to thank her and share her intention of applying to the HBCUvc fellowship program. Hadiyah warmly encouraged her to do so and to keep in touch.

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Earlier this fall, HBCUvc welcomed their fourth class of Fellows into the program, including Blanca! During the virtual welcoming and onboarding retreat, Blanca and Hadiyah had a chance to catch up during a one-on-one session. Blanca was so surprised that Hadiyah remembered her from their exchange during Academy and was thankful for the warm way Hadiyah welcomed her into HBCUvc.

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With the Redemptive Frame in mind, Blanca is looking forward to the HBCUvc Fellowship, where she’ll learn how to help less-connected communities get access to capital in the future. In both her own venture and future ventures she hopes to support, she’s excited to go beyond the exploitative and ethical in pursuit of the redemptive edge. She’s especially passionate about supporting ventures in education technology to help bridge the education gap in the country.

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