Victor Diaz has been selected as the winner of Temple University’s 8th annual Changemaker Challenge for developing LegalAI, a digital platform to help people navigate the complex process of legal immigration.
“The idea of my project is to help immigrants with their process because it is very expensive to go to a lawyer,” said Diaz, a student at Temple’s College of Engineering.
The Mexican native was spurred to start developing this digital concept when his aunt had a question about the immigration process, and he asked ChatGPT.
“Our solution provides research-friendly tools to help immigrants understand their rights, access reliable legal guidance and track their case progress,” Diaz said during the pitch competition held Feb. 19 at Temple’s Fox School of Business.
His platform is designed to offer real-time updates and personalized assistance all in one place.
The Changemaker Challenge was established by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute at the Fox School of Business to encourage the development and creation of social impact ideas and ventures with the aim of creating positive change in local communities and around the world. The challenge is open to all Temple students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Diaz was one of eight finalists who participated in the pitch competition held before a panel of judges. Finalists were selected from a group of 47 individuals who sent in submissions from 10 schools within the university.
He secured a total of $2,500, after winning the grand prize award and the first-place award in the upper track category.
The challenge also features awards on the undergraduate track. Each track has a first-place prize of $1,000 and a second-place prize of $500.
The other winners included
Rashmi Thapa, FOX ’25, who won first place undergraduate track for her idea EmpowerED, a personalized education consulting platform for international students;
Causha Spellman-Timmons, FOX ’26, who won second place on the upper track and the Global Innovation Award for SENIOR!, a concept that would bring sex education programming to seniors;
Raphael Cohen-Shippee, CLA ’26, who won second place on the undergraduate track for developing Vozzy World, an online game that offers educational programming; and
Robert Spero, FOX ’28, who won the People’s Choice award for his idea Spero Cafe, a cafe offering programming to address loneliness among elderly people.
William Neil Johnston, director of accelerator programs in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, said they hope participants come away from the challenge with a desire to put their ideas into practice.
“We are clear in our instructions that these do not have to be fully launched businesses or ventures,” Johnston said.
“The hope is that by putting together a pitch presentation and getting some feedback from our reviewers, the pitch coaches, the judges and by talking to the other participants that they would get some refinement of their ideas.”