Abu Fofanah came to America when his family won the lottery, and started a motivational t-shirt company.

Courtesy of Abu Fofanah

Class of 2015

In his freshman year Fofanah launched Motivational Apparel, or MoAp, a line of athletic t-shirts displaying inspirational messages.

He used $1,500 of his own money to get it up and running and has since sold almost 500 shirts, donating 10% of proceeds to the Special Olympics. Celebs like John Legend have been seen sporting Fofanah's line, and he's met with representatives from Urban Outfitters about selling in stores.

But success hasn't been easy for Fofanah who, when he was three or four years old, fled war-torn Sierra Leone with his mother and some of his siblings. His older siblings had to remain behind, and it was eight years before he saw them again.

Fofanah hasn't wasted an opportunity since coming to the States. Growing up in extreme poverty outside Philadelphia, he worked hard in school while his mother juggled multiple jobs. He received a full academic scholarship to the honors program at Penn State, and recently interned at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The budding entrepreneur plans to pursue his passion for fashion and retail, and one day run his own business.