Claire Howard

Zain Elwakil ’21 launches The Singing Buildings Project

person in a church

Some places invoke an accompanying melody. A quiet church with stained glass windows where the walls seem to reverberate solemnity just begs for the majestic notes of an organ or the crystal tones of a choir to fill its spacious ceilings. The relationship between space and sound, though not one commonly discussed, is one that links two detailed processes of capturing beauty and structuring artistic possibilities.  Zain Elwakil ’21, studying in the School of Architecture, hopes to create dialogue surrounding the intrinsic relationship between architecture and music through his new project The Singing Buildings.

Elwakil has always been tireless in his pursuit of creating and re-imagining art. In his final year of architecture, he’s spent long hours designing spaces to support community needs, align with utilitarian requirements, and combine the detail and precision of construction with aestheticism. Part of his artistic process has always included the imagination of auditory music to accompany the spaces he’s constructing.

“Day-to-day, when I enter a space, I have a vision of what the space sounds like and what I’d like to hear in that space.” Elwakil spoke of his creative process. 

In his personal life, his natural combination of space and sound has taken place through his film and composition hobbies, where he films explorative scenes of outdoor nature or beautiful buildings, often set to a soundtrack matching his conceptions of the space. He also often composes his own music, a process he finds similar to architecture.

“It’s related to how I feel. When I play notes [at my keyboard] they’re usually in some kind of harmonic relationship, removing boundaries. It translates similarly to space- I close my eyes and have that imaginative process.” Elwakil spoke of the similar creative process in his own life.

Hoping to create new conversations surrounding this natural relationship, Elwakil created a film project showcasing musicians performing in intricate and architecturally complex spaces.  During a time where the traditional performances in large-scale concert venues are on pause, these smaller, more intimate concerts Elwakil hopes will combine musical performance with architectural showcase.

The Singing Buildings’ first project, which premiered on February 15, showcased a collaboration between ZAC and Jawuan, two emerging Syracuse University musicians in the historic Center for the Arts in Homer, New York.  The building, constructed in the late 18th century, was originally a church drawing architectural inspiration from Romanesque and pre-Gothic stylistic elements. Its lofted arches and rose windows create a presence of peace and wonder, calling to be paired with the explorative notes of modern music.

See the first video here and subscribe to the new series where “music and architecture share a stage” here on You Tube.

While The Singing Buildings project has only just started, Elwakil’s vision for the project’s growth seeks to create a platform for artists to showcase their work while opening minds to hidden architectural beauties. He hopes to create a consistent series for small artists to host these concerts on a global platforms and showcase their skills combined and inspire minds to the harmonic relationship between architectural elements and melodies.

The true wonder of The Singing Buildings project lies not in its artistic ingenuity or seamless fusion of artists and buildings but in Elwakil’s miraculous prowess in adding this project on top of his other work. The legacy of architecture school in its grueling work is no secret, and as a fifth-year student currently constructing his thesis on top of running his company, Zuluecho Initiative, his ability to head another project is inspiring to say the least.

For Elwakil, the secret lies the blend of passionate pursuits. “ I do all these different things and it seems related- all my work is me figuring out how to tell a story from the LaunchPad to design and to the Singing Buildings project. At the end of the day it’s still a business that you have to run like an entrepreneur.”

Elwakil’s combination of passions leads itself to seeing possibilities in combinations of different fields- whether that’s design and business, or in this case: music and architecture. The drive to create beauty is apparent in every artistic field, but the ability to see the fusions and relationships between differing fields creates atmospheres and inspirations of beauties to inspire us all to embrace differing passions and embrace new possibilities.

Story by LaunchPad Global Media Fellow Claire Howard ’23;  photo supplied

Erica Morrison ’21 is inspired to create a legacy

Erica Morrison and her grandmother
Erica Morrison ’21 with her grandmother

To touch another person’s life in a positive way is the legacy many of us dream of leaving. Though we may want fame or a Fortune 500 company, deep down the thought that just by simply being ourselves we inspire those around us to be their best and change the world in their own way may possibly be one of our highest hopes.

Erica Morrison ’21, studying Finance in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and Public Relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, is a living example of the power one person can have on another’s life.  Through her personal lifelong legacy of using innovation and entrepreneurship to possibly benefit the world around her; her inspiration has always stemmed from one person: her grandmother.

Morrison, currently holding an internship with NASA in Knowledge Management, is without a doubt an accomplished and fearless visionary. In high school she decided to join her science club and competed in the Connecticut Student Innovation Expo for 3 years. During her sophomore year she created a product to help test antibiotic resistance in meat, helping change her perspective on meat consumption and its impact on humans and the environment. In her junior year she created a water bottle detector to test for lead traces in water; inspired by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and then her senior year she created a patch for leaking underground pipes utilizing the slime of hagfish which expands when exposed to liquid.

In her college career Morrison has continued to use innovation and technology to succeed and drive social change. Her capstone project, WaxPax Solutions,  creates an eco-friendly, biodegradable alternative to plastic packaging. WaxPax Solutions won Syracuse University’s Hult Prize competition and is currently preparing to compete in this spring’s Hult Regionals in the hopes of going on to pitch in front of the United Nations for the chance to win $1M.

“Maybe this will inspire somebody to think of something better than the status quo- COVID has shown us how many supplies we go through and how we need to be more sustainable at the source,” Morrison spoke in reference to their project and its importance in inspiring a continually innovative future.

Morrison’s lifelong determination to innovate a more sustainable future and her tenacity in chasing excellence stems from one person in her life: her grandmother. Morrison’s grandmother is Navajo and grew up in Brazos, New Mexico near the Navajo/Hopi reservation; shaped by the less-than-ideal living situations and little opportunities available. One Navajo custom her family observed was giving up the firstborn child to their parents to raise. However, when Morrison’s grandmother had her first child at a young age; she refused to give that child up and chose to run away from the reservation and build a future for her children utterly on her own- living in a whole new world while lacking all community and support.

“ No matter how much I’ve written about her I just can’t convey her spirit,” Morrison spoke. “She’s a ball of life. She had to work three times as hard as the normal person and I wondered how she could be so happy, so open, so optimistic. I want to be that person.”

Her grandmother’s unshakeable courage combined with the values of cultivation for the home we live in inspires Morrison every day to use her actions to pour passion and optimism into the world around her. To honor her grandmother’s legacy, she’s currently creating a documentary to showcase her incredible story and open the eyes of the world to a systemic lack of infrastructure in Indigenous communities. She’s received funding from a SOURCE grant and is focusing her semester on creating the film as her thesis within the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

To say passion exudes from a simple conversation with Morrison is an understatement. Her passion for the possibilities of life and her tenacity in her drive for excellence in all that she does is apparent in her remarkable array of accomplishments. Her determination in continual innovation to create a more sustainable future stems from the relentless optimism and perseverance of one person- inspiring us all to use our presence to continually improve the world and in turn inspire those around us.

To support COVID-19 relief in the Navajo & Hopi Community, please go here.

Story by Claire Howard ’23, Global Media Fellow; photo supplied

Insights: Don’t be afraid to pivot because a change in direction can be the key to creation

The value of pivoting

At a fork in the road on your entrepreneurial journey? Don’t be afraid to pivot and take a new path.

Part of the thrill and appeal of entrepreneurship lies in the ability to turn your vision into reality.  Through tireless work and persistent commitment, you get to take your personal dream and work to create something tangible and material out of it. Your actions create something that people utilize and value to make something about their lives better. It is the heart of it that is transforming your personal idea into a product and reality larger than yourself; something for society.

Yet one of the most common pitfalls of entrepreneurship is falling in love with your own idea.  Passion and determination are keys to creating success, and nothing inspires those key traits so well as pursuing your unique vision and chasing your dreams.  However, successful businesses are not defined by realization of personal visions but market profitability and scalable growth.

One of the most essential qualities of entrepreneurship is the ability to accurately read and respond to market demands. There is no sustainable business without a product that people actually want to buy. Every fledging entrepreneur knows that market research and customer discovery is one of the first steps in the process to building a successful business. Creating a product that investors will support because market research proves a gap and a need in the market is a well-understood essential aspect to getting your business off the ground.

However, the less-understood quality within entrepreneurship is the ability to pivot and adapt quickly to changing market needs. While the most in-depth customer discovery may confirm the viability of your product at the ideation stage, markets may shift, and consumer needs may change rapidly. The ability to accurately understand and respond to those shifts is key to creating a company that can sufficiently weather the inevitable adversity and unpredictability that defines the process of building companies.

The need for flexibility within entrepreneurship has become wildly apparent this past year with the global pandemic that rapidly forced intense change upon businesses in every sector. Small locally owned restaurants that depended on their neighborhood business suddenly had to switch to models of online delivery and takeout. Entertainment industries had to change their entire product from live performances and experiences to virtual or socially distanced events. While larger companies had the funds to absorb shocks from loss of sale, smaller businesses or startups who did not adjust rapidly enough simply ceased to exist.

One of our most successful startups here at the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University  is the perfect case study of responding to changing market needs and quickly pivoting. Matt Shumer, a junior studying Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, spent his first two years at Syracuse working on Visos, a company aimed at selling virtual reality devices for use in the medical industry.   

His venture was growing, and he was close to closing several key investments.  However, as COVID-19 hit, VR wasn’t top of mine for healthcare professionals.  The field of medicine and healthcare became solely focused on epidemiology and PPP. Though he had spent two years sacrificing his time to and pouring his talent into medical VR, Shumer quickly realized that market timing wasn’t aligned in a pandemic climate. 

He hit pause and pivot, built a team focused on a new vision with co-founders Miles Feldstein and Jason Kuperberg, and created a different company, OthersideAI, that today has millions in investment.

Pivoting is no easy task. To walk away from a project, idea, or company that you may have spent years working on and pouring your energy into may carry feelings of loss or wasted time. We create things because we care about them, and then are forced to walk away from the things we care about. But as entrepreneurship is the vision of creating a better world, the ability to pivot is the ability to give society what it needs and pinpoint how your talent can benefit others.

And as Matt’s story proves, good timing, good insight, and a good pivot can lead to even bigger and better outcomes.

Story by Claire Howard ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow

Gabby Holliman-Lopez ’22 and Tyra Jean G ’21 reflect on their roles as inaugural Todd B. Rubin Diversity and Inclusion Scholars at the LaunchPad

vignettes of two head shots
Gabby Holliman-Lopez ’22 and Tyra Jean G ’21

The image of an entrepreneur is a narrow one, often as Silicon Valley unicorns or Shark Tank hopefuls. Those are the exceptions, not the rule.  Innovation is everywhere and entrepreneurs are on every campus and in every community across the country and around the world.  That is a core value of the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University. Gabby Holliman-Lopez ’22 and Tyra Jean G’21, inaugural Todd B. Rubin Diversity and Inclusion Scholars believe that too.

Funded through a generous five-year commitment to SU Libraries by Todd B. Rubin ’04 (Architecture), the program supports entrepreneurial students at the LaunchPad from diverse backgrounds who are working to create inclusion within Syracuse University’s innovation community. Holliman-Lopez, a Communications and Rhetorical Studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Tyra Jean, a graduate student in the Master of Public Administration program at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Policy, were the first two students selected for the prestigious role.

They spent the fall semester pouring themselves into their goal of making the LaunchPad known across campus as a space open to all disciplines, backgrounds, ethnicities and identities.  For them, their role is especially important in highlighting the accessibility of entrepreneurship for more than just STEM or business majors, but opening it up to those who study arts, humanities, and anything else, and to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

“We wanted to push back against that ideology that entrepreneurship is specifically related to STEM.  If you see a need in society and you’re willing to go forth with fixing it, that’s the center of entrepreneurship,” said Jean in reflecting on the multidisciplinary core of innovation and change creation.

Seeking to make entrepreneurship accessible across all majors, Jean and Holliman-Lopez partnered with the WellsLink Leadership Program. They wanted to give the students of WellsLink, a program for students from historically underrepresented minorities in higher education, an opportunity to take their passion and drive and focus it on entrepreneurship.

Holliman-Lopez and Jean hosted a workshop this past fall to invite discussions surrounding entrepreneurship. They created a roundtable discussion with the WellsLink students where they pondered the meaning of innovation and showcased black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) LaunchPad alumni.  The goals were to send the message that success in starting your own company or pursuing innovation and creativity isn’t reserved for those of a specific identity.

“I was really excited by the response.  I felt like we got a lot of rich engagement which can be difficult to do on Zoom. Our goal was to expand the definition of entrepreneurship to include those of all backgrounds. “said Holliman-Lopez.  

“WellsLink and all other programs have such ambitious kids, and they don’t know what direction that’s going to take them.  It’s so wonderful to see people looking for tools to be able to grow themselves and here is a resource to get involved and grow your academic excellence and professional development,” said Jean.

Jean and Holliman-Lopez see entrepreneurship as a way not simply to just start your own business but to learn valuable career and personal skills to last for a lifetime.

Their goal this semester is to share life skills learned in the LaunchPad through a film compilation of BIPOC LaunchPad alumni sharing their experiences.  They hope to inspire BIPOC student communities to seek out opportunities available to them through the LaunchPad and learn innovation skills that they can use for life.

Entrepreneurship is a field not defined by interests or studies but passion and vision. It’s a field made richer when people from diverse walks of life join together in a creative and diverse community. 

That’s the goal that Gabby and Tyra will be pursuing through their journey as they innovate what it means to be the inaugural Todd B. Rubin Diversity and Inclusion Scholars.

Story by Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow Claire Howard ’23; photos supplied

Insights: How to Start a Startup

how to start a startup

Entrepreneurship is a community endeavor. Though it may be sparked by an individual idea or sparkling vision, the effort required to build a company from scratch into a sustainable, marketable reality requires teams, mentors, investors, and support systems to propel an idea from a mere dream into an impactful presence in the market.

For Syracuse innovators, the university ecosystem offers a wealth of knowledge, guidance, and support to help you build your business from scratch. From mentors to business competitions to networking events to enriching communities, SU has it all to help your entrepreneurial dreams flourish and transform visions into reality.

Getting Started

Connect with the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Bird Library. The LaunchPad is the perfect spot to take your brilliant idea if you’re still unsure as to how to shape it towards developing a business. Request a mentor on our website through our form to be matched with one of our Rubin Family Innovation Mentors, who are skilled in successfully launching business and a variety of skill sets including technology, coding, marketing, user interface, and sustainable growth.  Our mentors can help with everything from building a framework for an initial idea to finding further funding for an already successful business model.

We also have a group of Entrepreneurs in Residence, highly skilled alumni and faculty entrepreneurs who have successfully founded companies and know what it takes to build a company into a marketable vision.

The LaunchPad has so much to offer – technical workshops where you can learn hard skills like building websites or connecting with investors, fireside chats with many of our alumni who have gone on to forge their path through their own companies and offer wise advice to young entrepreneurs, and other networking events to connect with a community of like-minded driven individuals. Become a member today and become immersed in a world of ideas and visionaries.

Shape Your Idea

The LaunchPad invites you to use our wide array of available resources to shape your idea, go through market discovery, and create a product desirable to and effective for users. Read our Guide to Getting Started to create your steps to market and work through our Toolkit for a hands-on resource and step-by-step list to help you shape your market plan. Visit our Resource page to learn about all we have to offer from presentation templates to free eBooks to software subscription services to help you thrive. 

Join the E-Club

Syracuse’s Entrepreneurship Club is the perfect community to join if you’re looking for a stimulating environment full of like-minded individuals driven to create businesses just as you. The Entrepreneurship Club meets weekly and hosts successful young entrepreneurs as speakers, practices for pitch competitions, and workshops for refining practical skills needed to start your own business.

Take entrepreneurship classes

Take classes in the EEE program in The Martin J. Whitman School of Management, explore other offerings in the iSchool’s IDS program, and supplement your academic offerings with classes in digital media and branding at Newhouse, as well as design thinking, graphic design, industrial design and UX skills at VPA’s School of Design.  Teach yourself to code with some classes in the College of Engineering and Computer Science or the iSchool.  Build out as many skills sets as possible across disciplines, because you’ll need that interdisciplinary thinking to create a great venture and build a robust team.  Syracuse University’s innovation and entrepreneurship academic offerings are some of the best in the country.  Take advantage of them.

Apply for an entrepreneurial internship

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management offers entrepreneurial and problem-solving students to apply to be a part of their experiential learning program as a student consultant intern. These intern head various projects that build skills crucial for entrepreneurship and inspire initiative and visionary goal setting as a corporate skill.

Handshake is the perfect space to find internships tailored to networks specific to Syracuse University and your own majors and field. A simple selection of the university that you attend and your school email creates an account for you that is designed to find internships and jobs unique to your skill sets and preferences. The best part? Employers and jobs that show up on your feed and searches are specifically looking for Syracuse students and can’t wait to hire you.

Techstars, a global platform supporting startups and investment into innovation, maintains a global network listing full-time employment opportunities and internships with startups and developing companies. You can set up a profile with them or connect your profile with LinkedIn to begin searching and applying for stimulating jobs in inventive and creative work environments,  

Learn about other resources on campus

Innovation Law Center — The Innovation Law Center, part of the Syracuse University College of Law focuses on training individuals to understand the laws, regulations, and patents associated with starting a business or designing a new product. The LaunchPad partners with the Innovation Law Center to help our student innovators patent their work.

Invent@SU – Invent@SU is a six-week summer program where students ideate, design, and, and work in teams to create a technological product just over a few weeks. With access to stipends and equipment such as 3D printers, machinery, and laser cutters, students have the opportunity to not simply dream and pitch their visions to others but actually put in the practical manual labor to realize their visions.

Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship—The Newhouse School boasts the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, a hub for innovation forecasting trends within the media industry and creating student interest in the state of the world around them and creating positive presences within media. With classes, programs, and internships centered around entrepreneurship within media, the Center helps shapes future media voices and influencers.  

Syracuse Center of Excellence – The Syracuse Center of Excellence (CoE) focuses on fostering innovations that will help build a sustainable future through environmental and energy systems.  Located in downtown Syracuse, the Center works with more than 200 companies to create a cleaner future. Students can become involved through research and projects with partner companies.  The Syracuse CoE also offers and Innovation funding award program.

SU MakerSpace — The MakerSpace at Syracuse is a materials lab cultivated to help students harness their creative visions through physical crafts and handiwork. From 3D Printers to soldering irons to embroidery machines, a vast array and assortment of machinery and equipment is available for any creative projects and personal use.  It is located in the lower level of Kimmel Hall.

Connect with community-based ecosystem partners:

WISE Women’s Business Center — Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship is a business center in Syracuse dedicated to supporting women in their drive towards business success. The center offers mentoring, coaching, and training in addition to their events for the purpose of networking and building connections.

South Side Innovation Center — The South Side Innovation Center is an entrepreneurial startup incubator in Syracuse’s south side of the city. Designed to connect prospective business owners with communities and inspire social impact, the incubator is run by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and offers mentoring, assistance with business building, and access to vital startup resources.

The Tech Garden — The Tech Garden is an entrepreneurial center located in downtown Syracuse which provides resources, programs, funding, mentorship, and networks designed to help entrepreneurs launch their platforms and develop their visions. Just last year Governor Cuomo announced additional funding for the Tech Garden to expand its facilities to help Build the city of Syracuse into a New York innovation center.

Central New York Biotech Accelerator – The CNYBAC is owned and operated by SUNY Upstate Medical University, the region’s only academic medical center.  CNYBAC ventures gain access to Upstate clinical and basic science experts and state-of-the-art CORE Research Facilities and equipment with technical assistance.  CNYBAC also offers virtual client tenancy to provide access to expert partnerships, Creation Garage with 3D printing, a phenomenal and vibrant innovation ecosystem, conference room access for meetings, and attend events.  In addition, it offers a large number of workshops, training programs and an annual Medical Device Innovation Challenge.

Find funding for your idea

Business Competitions — Business plan competitions are the perfect way to gather initial funding to get your startup off the ground. Visit the LaunchPad website to learn about and apply to our competitions hosted every spring and fall with more than $125,000 up for grabs annually. In addition to many campus competitions hosted by the LaunchPad including ‘Cuse Tank, the Impact Prize, the Hult Prize, the ACC InVenture Prize, the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards, Compete CNY and the RvD iPrize (sponsored by the iSchool), be sure to also check The Panasci Business Plan Competition and The Orange Tank Pitch Competition, both hosted annually by the Whitman School of Management.  In addition, the LaunchPad helps prepare students for competitive funding opportunities such as LaunchPad Techstars Fellowships and national competitions such as Startup Grind and the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards.

Dorm Room Fund — Dorm Room Fund is a student-run seed investor focusing on student startups.  Teams can apply to pitch for $20,000 in funding and entrance to a community of mentors from companies like Venmo and Buzzfeed.  They can also become part of a network with other startups working towards the same visions and pursuing their own lofty dreams.  Work with the Syracuse LaunchPad to meet Dorm Room Fund representatives and get your company ready for funding.

Techstars Accelerator — For startups which have considerable traction, applying to one of Techstars’ three-month accelerators could be the stepping stone to turn your startup into a successful company. Held all over the world, the accelerators plunge your team into a world of high-level mentoring, funding, and a supported path towards future sustained growth and prodigious success. Applications to the various locations open around six times a year and applications are reviewed for eight weeks from the closing date.  Learn more about what it takes to become a Techstars portfolio company from the LaunchPad.

Starting a startup is no easy task, but the wealth of resources Syracuse University has to offer provides essential support to make the road slightly less grueling. From entrepreneurial communities to funding competitions and hands-on opportunities, Syracuse strives to make our campus community one where ideas not only flourish but are encouraged to fruition.

By Claire Howard ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow

Renee Yu ‘21 is building social impact through WeMedia Labs

person looking at the camera

Many of us are starry-eyed dreamers wishing to leave the world better than we found it. However, it’s rare to discover individuals whose starry-eyed dreams are directed towards positive action and practical impact to their communities. To create positive change and influence where you are is a rare ability, and Renee Yu ‘21, studying Policy Studies in the  Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and founder of the Chinese media team WeMedia Lab, is such an individual who is thoughtfully committed to positively influencing the Syracuse community.

Yu, originally from the Hunan province in China, has always had a dream to use her skills and energy to pour positivity in the world around her. Before she came to Syracuse she founded an E-commerce startup called Dumall, where she launched a business campaign called “Children of Stars’ which gave revenue from targeted product to children with autism. Her work on such an important social issue inspired Yu to spend her career influencing others positively and shaped her decision to study Policy Studies in Maxwell.

However, when she first came to Syracuse, Yu found that her social circle was small and she did not feel as if she was growing through learning from those different than her. As an international student, Yu was immediately plugged into international communities but realized that this welcoming international community had turned into a bubble for her.  “The first two years at Syracuse I did not participate enough outside the Chinese student community.  As a girl who just flew all the way to America I wanted to see things I had never seen before. The world happens outside your comfort zone,” said Yu.

Challenging herself to move outside of her comfort zone and learn from people with different experiences, Yu began searching for ways to connect with domestic students and bridge the gap between the international and domestic community.  As she connected with those outside her immediate circle, she realized that though the backgrounds and experiences s of students differed wildly- every person felt the same. No matter from how far away or what culture they came from, every student when they came to college experienced the same loneliness, uncertainty of belonging, and deep desire to fit in and find a home.  “In the end we’re not divided or stereotypes of our nationality- in the end we’re just people.” said Yu.

Struck by the solidarity and power of shared experiences that Yu found in her campus conversations, she decided to start an organization that would foster healthy conversations and create meaningful relationships between people across different backgrounds. WeMedia Lab, a Chinese media team affiliated with the Syracuse Media department, seeks to not only maintain a strong community and open communication among Chinese students but works to build communities between Chinese students and all other Syracuse students. They describe themselves as contributing to the emotional bond of Syracuse University in their attempts to build an empathetic and closely connected community.

For Yu, the work to build WeMedia Lab and create positive impact in the Syracuse community was driven by her lifelong goal of pouring yourself into whatever community one is in.

After her freshman year she stayed in New York City and worked for an NGO which reached out to vulnerable communities by simply connecting with them, and offering to share a meal with a person who was homeless or having conversations with immigrants who felt unseen due to their language barrier. Through that, Yu realized the power of simply connecting with individuals in your community to make their struggles heard.

In creating WeMedia Lab, she hoped to give pieces of herself back into the Syracuse campus community and through her small actions of connecting with other individuals, she wants to create a larger community where people are always listening and giving to one another. She especially wants to thank Yueye Wang, Ze Zang, Aorui Pi, and Xingyu Tan, her teammates who together created WeMedia Lab.

Yu hopes that WeMedia Lab continues to be a presence on campus that forges diverse and empathetic communities. She continues to implement her conviction of the power of connection into every conversation and interaction. “Stories matter and voices matter. Speak out and encourage more people to speak out.”

Story by Claire Howard ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow