Lewis Mission Moment: Nia White '17

What seemed like a fun trip to the Philippines, turned into a very exciting chapter of life for Nia White ’17.

After graduation, Nia took a trip to the Philippines with other college students from the surrounding area; but when she returned home, felt lost and confused about the next chapter in her life. She worked in a few different roles for the next year or so, but nothing seemed to be the right fit. Nia decided to take a second trip to the Philippines in 2019 where she visited an orphanage run by the Blessed Virgin Missionaries of Carmel. After that trip, she knew in her heart that she had more to offer. Nia asked the sisters if she could come back to stay and volunteer – and one week later, she had booked a one-way ticket to the Philippines.

Since then, Nia has been responsible for looking after and caring for the children who live in the orphanage. From early childhood development and physical therapy to tutoring, cooking, and bathing – Nia did it all. Now, she also serves as an English teacher for grades 1, 4, 5, and 6, as well as helping other teachers prepare lesson plans and creating curriculum for a college course. Although her role at the orphanage has changed throughout the years, one thing always remained constant – the love and passion for her work.

“I am a missionary at heart. I love it. I really could not imagine myself in any other kind of work. I could never work in retail, a bank, in politics, or media. I have always wanted a simple life and to serve people as I do here. My favorite part is the kids. They are bad for the ego and good for the heart. Most importantly, for me, they are the face of God. They crack me up. They stress me out. They make me happy. I learn a lot about humanity and its beauty from them,” says Nia.

Nia had many unique experiences and opportunities at Lewis that not only allowed – but also encouraged – her to learn, grow, and explore. She was surrounded by people that motivated her and inspired her to pursue this type of rewarding work.

“It is hard not to leave Lewis without doing some type of mission work. Lewis does a great job at opening our minds and hearts to the world around us. Being surrounded by that energy made me want to find it elsewhere, as much as I would have loved to stay at Lewis. The Lasallian network extends to so many countries, even here in the city I live in. Bacolod City has the University of St. Lasalle, and Manila has De La Salle University, both of which are connected to Lewis.”

While at Lewis, Nia was I was involved heavily in ministry and International Student Association, traveled abroad, served as a peer minister, and worked in the Lasalle House with the Christian Brothers.

“The Brothers taught me a lot and continuously supported me throughout my time at Lewis, and even after. I would talk about campus and my experiences as a student often with Br. James. Br. Tom would help me with my math homework on my work breaks. Br. Phil and I would have very meaningful conversations about vocation and life. Before I left for the Philippines, I had dinner with them, and it was like saying goodbye to my family. It was also the last time I saw Br. Bernard, who was always so kind to me.”

Nia feels blessed to be able to wake up every morning and do the work she loves. This opportunity has allowed her to reflect and be grateful for all that she has and, more importantly, made her eager to share it with others.

Lewis Mission Moment: Liz Anderson '19

Having grown up with a Catholic education and a strong sense of community, Liz felt that the Lewis Mission was a true reflection of her personal values and beliefs from the moment she stepped foot on campus.

“It was the perfect fit for me! I was a few classes away from earning my associate degree somewhere else; however, I took the risk and jumped into the Radio-TV Broadcasting program right away, because Lewis truly felt like home,” said Liz.

Although she was a transfer student and only spent a few semesters on campus, Liz quickly became involved on campus. This motivation to get involved was fueled by her eagerness to strengthen her spirituality and her drive to create change. Liz was an active member of University Ministry, through which she traveled to the Philippines and participated in several retreats. She also was a member of the Black Student Union, worked for Lewis University Police Department, served as the Promotions Director for WLRA, and was the Executive Producer of Lewis Life – a segment for LUTN that highlighted students across campus.

Liz felt supported by so many members of the Lewis community, which only served as affirmation that she was in the right place. She had many unique experiences and opportunities at Lewis that not only allowed – but also encouraged – her to learn, grow, and explore. One in particular was the day she was invited to participate in the Faith Behind Bars service-learning course with Dr. Christie Billups in order to capture some highlights for a Lewis Life segment.

“Being a part of that class really opened my eyes and put things into perspective for me,” Liz said. “It really brought the Mission to life and allowed me to see that we have a personal and social responsibility to respect one another. I was able to connect with these inmates, listen to their stories, and realize that no matter what their past looks like, they are human beings and should be treated as such.”

This class and other community-based experiences were just the beginning for Liz. “I am just getting started! I want to stay at Lewis and do more – make a bigger impact.”

And she is doing just that! Liz graduated from Lewis and recently accepted a position to work as a graduate assistant in the Office of Community Engaged Learning while pursuing her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.

“Being part of the Lewis community, and the Lasallian network as a whole, has been a great opportunity for me. One that I never went looking for, but one that had been looking for me. I feel like this is the path I was meant to be on. I treat the Lewis Mission as a personal guideline and use it as a foundation in all that I do. I know I can make a difference in the world, and Lewis is giving me a chance to continue to do that starting right here on campus.”

Lewis Mission Moment: Jay Savsani ’07 – Changing the World, One Meal at a Time

After many years working in technology, Lewis alumnus Jay Savsani ’07 has completely transformed into a thought leader in the sharing economy space.

In 2012, Jay founded Meal Sharing - a global platform that connects people to home cooked meals. Fueled by his experience in technology and inspired by all of the traveling he did after graduation, Jay made it his goal to create a website that would bring people together from all around the world via food.

Fast forward to eight years later…

Jay’s start-up company has recently been acquired by Traveling Spoon, one of the world's largest travel culinary companies. The company now has meals from over 150 countries and 450 cities.

“It has been a crazy experience and I owe it all to Lewis University,” said Jay. “I was just a kid that started as a pre-health student, and now I get to travel around the world doing work that I love!”

At the beginning of his journey, Jay was nervous. This was something that had never been done before, but he took a chance and worked hard to be the best he could be. Lewis provided Jay with a strong foundation, and he continued to grow and gain confidence throughout his experiences after graduation.

“The people that I met at Lewis were inspiring – especially professors Robert Bergman and Arthur Regal. Anything I wanted to explore, whether that be music or switching my major and joining the College of Business, was met with open arms in a way that was not at other universities! I had the confidence to jump into things; to get in there, explore, and make a difference for the world. Lewis inspired me to think big and do things larger than myself,” Jay added.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in Marketing in 2007, Jay began working with a portfolio program advertising agency and had the opportunity to travel all around the world. From Paris to Brazil, he did it all. A few years later, Jay decided it was time to settle down and start his next adventure. As fate would have it, this adventure begins with a fellow Lewis alumnus. Jay and his good friend Justin Kempiak ’07 ’12 reconnected and, in 2010, they made the decision to build their own marketing agency company.

“It was a great experience to work with another Lewis Flyer!” said Jay. “We were definitely early players in the digital marketing scene in Chicago, and our work was ahead of our time. We brought something new to the table and it was exciting!”

Jay then opened his own agency which was a combination of advertising and marketing for clients and building startups for others. He had a team of designers and developers who helped their clients’ dreams come true – which is what ultimately inspired Jay to build Meal Sharing.

“I wanted to build a tech company for people to travel and try new food – a complete cultural exchange. I noticed a trend during my time abroad, gained confidence through my previous work, and just continued to build upon that. I was ready to change the world.”

Jay hopes that students will read his story and realize their full potential. “I want to be able to give back to the university that gave me the foundation to do some really exciting things in my career. But more importantly, I want to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs coming out of Lewis!”

Lewis Mission Moment: Kevin Davenport '11 Answers Call to Empower Black and Brown Youth

From the time Kevin can remember, his mother spent most of her time mentoring youth at her performing arts school. Kevin mastered the curriculum in her program and was teaching his own classes by age 15. Fast forward to 2015, at age 25, Kevin decided to carry on his mother’s vision - and The Ideal Candidate was born.

Compared to every major city in America, Chicago has the highest out of school, out of work percentage for black and brown youth, ages 16 to 24. Kevin and his team at The Ideal Candidate have devoted themselves to changing that narrative.

At its launch, Kevin and his team focused only on soft skill development; however, since inception, they have added onto the existing curriculum and grown more than 35% year after year. The Ideal Candidate is now an award-winning non-profit organization that certifies students with: Financial Literacy, Soft Skills, Etiquette, Corporate Integration, Sales & Communication, etc.

As of January 2020, The Ideal Candidate has added to its operations to start placing students in positions and act as a diversity and inclusion pipeline for corporations and small businesses.

“The Ideal Candidate equips youth with skills they can use forever,” says Kevin. “I designed the curriculum to address all the skills needed to excel and thrive in the workplace that are not taught directly in a traditional high school curriculum; many of which are typically taught in the household. And when it is not being taught in the household, and they are not teaching it in school, some students enter adulthood with zero exposure to these skills. We address these issues head on. The Ideal Candidate program prepares an individual for getting the job, keeping the job, and knowing what to do with your new stream of income. We’ve impacted 600 plus students to date.”

This organization services black and brown youth from all over the Chicagoland area, many of which are dealing with major issues. Some have to cross gang territory to get to and from school or had a classmate or family member die due to gun violence. At The Ideal Candidate, a critical aspect of the job is to build a strong relationship with the students, so they feel heard and know they are in a safe and open environment for learning.

For Kevin, it is important that each 'Ideal Candidate' graduates with a new sense of confidence and truly believes and feels that they are equal. "I want them to know they add value to any room they walk into, and that their value will continue to compound over time."

Kevin is very grateful to Dr. Ayers and Dr. Enyia of the Lewis Communications Department for being amazing teachers and going above and beyond to support him throughout his journey at the university.

“I really took advantage of their open-door policy, and I gained so much knowledge in creative thinking and problem solving just from seeing how they think and dissect problems to recreate solutions. Lewis University taught me grit, time management, problem solving and creative thinking, which have all laid the foundation for my professional career.”

Lewis’ Mission statement is a guiding star for how Kevin chose to design his life after graduation. He created a non-profit [The Ideal Candidate] to provide resources to a diverse student population and provide education. He then created a for-profit company [The Ideal Training Academy] to help with the diversity and inclusion issues corporations have when hiring new diverse talent.

“Every day, I wake up fulfilled, humbled, grateful that I can live and work in my purpose. I feel like I am doing the work I was put on earth to do. Very challenging work, but simultaneously very rewarding work. And I’m just getting started,” says Kevin.

And that is no joke. On August 1, 2020, Kevin and another partner are launching a new company: Ideal Digital (ID). ID is a digital marketing, advertising, and branding company that will hire directly from The Ideal Candidate.

“This is a very exciting time. For the first time ever, I will be able to directly hire my own graduates from The Ideal Candidate. Allowing a student to complete our full cycle (Training - Job Placement – First check) 100% under our guidance.”

Kevin recently received two awards for his outstanding work: FWD (For Women & Diversity) Award – Chicago 2019 and the Mayor’s Award of Excellence – City of Aurora 2020. In addition, The Ideal Candidate was recognized in 2019 by the Chicago Community Trust – Young Leaders Fund with the Community & Economic Development Award and in 2020 Chicago Housing Authority CHCS recognized The Ideal Candidate with the Community Impact Award.

To learn more about The Ideal Candidate, visit www.theidealcandidate.org.