D’Wayne Edwards founded PENSOLE to give talented young design students—regardless of socioeconomic background—an opportunity to learn from the industry’s best, without financial barriers, and to provide the industry with a farm system for the next generation of footwear designers.

In less than two years since the first PENSOLE class, there are more than 30 Academy graduates working professionally—full-time or as interns—for footwear companies worldwide such as Bluehaven, Anta, North Face, New Balance, Wolverine, Under Armour, Stride Rite, adidas, JORDAN and Nike.