Lucio Hightower-Rojas

Lucio Hightower-Rojas, a 17-year-old senior at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, has already earned $19,000 in college scholarships by navigating the challenging process of private applications. This first-hand experience inspired him to launch Scholar Brilliance, an AI-driven gamified platform that helps students like him improve their essays, manage tasks, and track successes. As the owner of Dartoom AI, Paradise Mulch and an NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge winner, Lucio embodies the "Voyager" archetype from his Entrepreneurial Mindset Index (EMI) test—he sees beyond the current state to solve pain points and sets long-term goals for success.

“Developing this business plan showed me that frustration is just the start of innovation. Scholar Brilliance isn’t just a tool; it’s about giving students a fighting chance at a debt-free future,” Lucio says. His future vision for the company includes forging partnerships with