At Drexel, innovation is tradition — and that tradition starts on the first day of classes for Drexel's undergrads.
Case in point: Drexel junior Christopher Gray, 21, created a mobile scholarship app that makes it easier for students to find college scholarships. The app, called Scholly, is found at myscholly.com and allows students to search for scholarships based on eight common criteria, including GPA, gender, grade, and major.
"Since I was a child, I was fascinated with starting businesses," Gray said. "From loaning my friends a dollar and asking for interest to finding used toys and selling them to my peers, I was always an entrepreneur."
Gray, who is majoring in entrepreneurship, was nicknamed the "Million Dollar Scholar" after he discovered and was awarded $1.3 million in scholarships. Since then, he's made it a priority to make it easier for other students and families to find the funds to finance a fantastic education.
To program the Scholly app, Gray partnered with Nicholas Pirollo, who majored in electrical and computer engineering at Drexel. The partnership between students in the LeBow College of Business and the College of Engineering is one that is fairly common at Drexel. During their undergrad years, business and engineering students often pair up to create projects like this one. And some of them, like Scholly, go on to hit the market and earn rave reviews from U.S.A. Today, U.S. News & World Report, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. Gray also appeared on the highly competitive television show, Shark Tank, in February 2015. Lori Greiner of QVC and Daymond John of FUBU jumped on the chance to back Scholly, matching Gray's proposal of a $40,000 investment in exchange for 15 percent of his company.
And for Gray, some of that success comes from being a Drexel student.
"I love how Drexel is so supportive of its students," Gray said. "Every project I have worked on, I can count on the support of the University and the professors here who will work with you to get things done."
Learn more about the Scholly app at myscholly.com.