UIW Shines at 2026 HSI Battle of the Brains, LLC

The HSI Battle of the Brains, LLC is a national cross-discipline academic competition and career pipeline program providing students an opportunity to pitch a business idea based on a problem presented by participating companies. This was the University of the Incarnate Word’s first year participating with an amazing team, and they showed up strong!  

HSI’s mission is to expand opportunity and strengthen the pipeline of Hispanic talent in business, STEM and related industries. This competition enables employers to engage meaningfully with the next generation of business and STEM leaders. 

UIW team members included Analia Gracia, Alejandra Padilla Huerta, Rhual Aranzabal Gonzalez, Horacio Viramontes and Nathan Castro. 

“This experience was definitely a first for me; I really benefited from the chance to build potential professional relationships with big name companies, learned to think outside the box and meet students of various Hispanic and ethnic backgrounds from around the world.” shared Nathan Castro. 

 Horacio Viramontes stated "Representing UIW at the HSI Battle of the Brains for the first time was an experience I'll never forget. Over those 24 hours, our team pushed through challenges none of us had faced before, I learned more than I ever expected, and I met incredible students and professionals. I'm proud of how our team came together, and I hope this is the first of many years UIW competes."  

 Special congratulations to Analia Gracia, UIW student, for being selected to receive scholarships from The Home Depot and Dell Technologies. Gracia shared "Battle of the Brains was such an incredible opportunity! The 24-hour competition was challenging, but I gained so much insight into the process of developing real-world business solutions. In addition, it was incredible to network with companies, students and industry professionals!” 

 A sincere thank you to organizer Gregory Gibson Jr. and his team. They helped bring together CrowdStrike, Dell Technologies, The Home Depot, Thrivent, eBay and Electronic Arts (EA) to provide a weeklong experience through tours, workshops, panel discussions, internship opportunities and scholarships. 

 Visit https://hsibattleofthebrains.com/ to learn more.