Raissa Souza and Gabriel Sellmer recall arriving in the U.S. from their native Brazil, ready to embark on a Nebraska Wesleyan education.
Souza was drawn to NWU for its medical school placement with dreams of becoming a physician and an opportunity to play soccer for the Prairie Wolves. Sellmer wanted to pursue a degree in economics and play tennis for NWU.
“Whenever I tell my friends how much I talk with my professors and the trust we have in each other, people are shocked,” said Souza. “The sense of community is unbelievable, and the opportunities are always there for students to take.”
For Souza and Sellmer, that included the opportunity to participate in the Network Globally Act Locally (NGAL) Program where they had the opportunity to develop and pitch a product. They were among four NWU students selected for the 2019 NGAL Program.
NGAL is an international entrepreneurial consortium that helps students develop the skills to launch startup companies. The consortium includes students from NWU, College of Charleston, The Citadel, and the University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology, both in Estonia. Now in its fifth year, NGAL is made possible through the Harry and Reba Huge Foundation.
To participate in NGAL, Souza and Sellmer first had to win NWU’s pitch contest. After placing in the top three, the duo teamed to create “Neighbor App,” a mobile app that helps connect tourists with local guides. The app promotes authentic local experiences by creating a personalized profile for the user.
It was an app that Souza and Sellmer wished they had upon their arrival to the U.S.
“Sometimes due to the lack of time these essential connections and quality interactions between travelers and locals are lost,” said Sellmer. “I started to wonder how this could became a more efficient and less time-consuming process but at the same time guarantee an extraordinary and memorable trip.”
NGAL participants spend a week in Estonia working with entrepreneurial experts at the University of Tartu’s Idea Lab and the Mektory at Tallinn University of Technology where they fine-tune their products, business plans and goals. Prior to their arrival in Estonia, they collected survey results, conducted research and established business connections made possible through NWU professors Jodi Ryter and James Perry.
The final installment of NGAL was a trip to Charleston, S.C. where they would pitch their product before a panel of judges and compete for cash prizes to be used for further product development. Souza and Sellmer’s efforts were rewarded with a third-place finish — the only U.S. student team to receive honors.
“It reflected all the hard work and time that we had put into the project,” said Souza. “From sleepless nights, discussions and failures, to putting all of our efforts into our product. I was really grateful and honored to be selected by the judges to be third place and able to make history representing Nebraska Wesleyan.”
Now Souza and Sellmer are off to continue pursuing their dreams. In May, Souza graduated from NWU with a degree in biology and will head to Boston University School of Medicine this fall to pursue a degree in anatomy and neurobiology. Sellmer earned a degree in economics and is employed at Spreetail in Lincoln.
But both agree they aren’t leaving their “Neighbor App” behind.
“Besides being a people-oriented physician, I want to be an entrepreneur and develop the Neighbor App and get more partnerships and become the connection for the East Coast,” said Souza.
“I am more curious of what possibilities and what the world has to offer. Maybe one day this company can become a reality and we will forever thank the NGAL program and the Huge Foundation,” Sellmer added, “After successfully going through all of those challenges, I feel very confident and excited about the time management, decision-making and problem-solving skills that I acquired. They will certainly be very useful moving onto this new phase of my life after college.”
Click & Glow
Seniors Jonathan Curti of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Justin Lawrence of Eagle, Neb., were also selected to participate in NGAL 2019. Together they created the product, “Click & Glow,” a lighting system that is fastened under a vehicle. With the click of a button, it illuminates anything under the car and surrounding area. Curtis and Lawrence promoted it as a safety tool for people who feel vulnerable when walking to their vehicles at night. Their work on Click & Glow continues.
“NGAL was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Curti. “Being able to travel the world made me realize that there is so much to experience that I didn't know I would love.”
“I'm grateful I had the chance to receive mentoring from some of the most successful and motivating people I've ever been around,” added Lawrence. “I think the coolest part was having people from completely different backgrounds come together as strangers and leave as good friends. NGAL was truly an experience of a lifetime and I'm thankful I had the chance to be a part of something so special.”
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Story by Kelsea Porter (’19).