Speaker encourages leadership

Many believe that leadership is a crucial skill to have given the current climate of the St. Ben’s and St. John’s campuses and the entire nation.

The Johnnie Development Institute (JDI) and Black Student Union (BSU) hosted philanthropist Sam Ndely to speak on the values of leadership and diverse representation on Friday in Quad 170. Ndely serves as program officer for impact and collective giving at the Minneapolis Foundation, is on the community advisory council for First Independent Bank and is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.

SJU junior Cormac O’Connor attended the presentation.

“I really didn’t know what to expect when I walked in, however, after the discussions about various things like a giving circle and talking about how to improve various parts of our communities, I felt like it was a very valuable experience,” O’Connor said.

Adrian Belisle, secretary of the BSU, commented on the selection of Ndely as the speaker.

“Sam is connected with our dean Daryl Bass who is a member of the same fraternity. JDI and BSU were looking for a speaker who could talk about fragile masculinity, Black empowerment and giving back to the community,” Belisle said.

The workshop commenced with Ndely first speaking about his own background and how, as a graduate of the University of Minnesota, he came to work in philanthropy. He shared that he had not planned to work in philanthropy but was inspired to make a change by a quote from Jay Shetty, “Your passion is for you, but your purpose is for others.”

“I wanted to go somewhere where I could help influence decisions, I think I want to go into philanthropy or finance,” Ndely said.

He then clarified the definitions and differences between philanthropy and charity.

“Philanthropy is long-term strategic giving focused on creating systemic change. Charity is shortterm assistance that meets immediate needs,” Ndely said.

“Here’s a guiding principle that I want you to think about: philanthropy should align with your values,” Ndely said.

He explained that unity, justice, respect, balance and resilience are especially important in leadership and asked listeners to share which value was most important to them.

“Respect for persons is the baseline for treating each other as equals,” Belisle said in response.

After other people shared with the group, Ndely ended his talk with a call to action.

“Connect with local organizations and advocate for philanthropic efforts to support the Black community,” Ndely said, urging the audience to set a strategy for achieving these goals.

The workshop portion of the night began with students being divided into small groups to practice group philanthropy. Ndely challenged the students to pick an issue from a provided list that resonated with them, find a Minnesota organization that assists with the chosen topic, and determine a collective way to financially and otherwise support the organization.

During Q&A, Sam Ndely offered advice on black entrepreneurship, AI use and being a person of color in a predominately white institution. To conclude the event, Ndely encouraged listeners to reflect.

“What do you want your purpose to be? How do you want to be remembered?” he asked.