DSU students finish second in national Salesforce Agentblazer competition
For a group of DSU College of Business students, what began as a classroom assignment quickly grew into something bigger. By the end of September, they had built chatbots, practiced real AI skills and earned national recognition in the Salesforce’s Agentblazer Challenge. Their work secured DSU a second place finish in the national competition and allowed three students to walk away as official Champion Status winners.
Over the summer, Dr. Carrie Awadzi built a strategic partnership with Salesforce to bring Delaware State University into the national Agentblazer Challenge. Under her leadership, DSU students entered the competition for the first time. Reflecting on the achievement, Dr. Awadzi said the experience showed what students can accomplish when they are encouraged to explore emerging tools. “As first-time participants in a national competition, I’m proud to have led my students to second place. Learning AI positions them to lead strategically and embrace emerging technologies with confidence,” she said.
The Agentblazer Challenge ran from September 1 to September 30 as a self-paced virtual experience that teaches students how AI, automation and data management tools come together in real workplaces. Participants earn a digital credential at the end of the program that shows employers they can navigate the Salesforce platform and apply AI to solve practical problems.
Students moved through several parts of the challenge. It began with a Salesforce Fundamentals webinar that introduced the core features of the platform and how AI is shaping everyday business operations. They then entered the Agentblazer training track, where they worked independently to complete modules that led to Champion or Innovator status.
Champion Status required students to learn foundational Agentforce concepts, build a working agent, and identify useful ways the tool could support a business. Innovator Status asked students to go further by creating sales and service agents, leading AI initiatives and designing solutions that drive measurable outcomes.
Three DSU students reached Champion Status. Kai Henry, Keyara Colvin and Rodney Simmons were each selected for a two hundred dollar award through a national drawing for top finishers.
Henry said the challenge helped clear up misconceptions he had about how chatbots work and taught him the value of staying patient through the process. “I went in with some misconceptions about how to build a functional chatbot, and the challenge cleared them up,” he said. “The patience I learned at DSU was my biggest asset.”
Simmons, a freshman business major, said he did not realize at first that the assignment was even part of a competition. After hearing classmates talk about it, he decided to participate and was surprised by how much he enjoyed the work. “I learned how to make a hotel chatbot and edit a webpage,” he said. “Representing DSU as one of the winners is a blessing, and I am grateful my professor encouraged me to try it.”
A guest speaker from Salesforce met with students in November to recognize their success and share how these abilities can support future career opportunities.
