Greg Maurice and Paul Herman provide inspiration and resources through their platform, Zaka
Sacred Heart University alums Greg Maurice ’05 and Paul Herman ’04 are optimists through and through. They believe people can empower themselves to succeed and to enjoy life. It was this philosophy that led them to create Zaka, a one-of-a-kind career service.
The Zaka website connects first- and second-generation immigrants to workshops, coaching and motivational speakers to help them advance professionally and gain corporate knowledge. The platform provides advice from top professionals at companies such as Google, Spotify and Goldman Sachs.
Maurice and Herman understand the life of an immigrant. Maurice moved to the U.S. from Haiti when he was only 13. His family eventually settled outside of Atlanta, GA, where he attended high school. A gifted soccer player, he was recruited to play at SHU. “I immediately fell in love with the school and the coaching staff,” he said.
Maurice quickly got involved beyond the classroom and field, joining fraternity & sorority life, where he and Herman first connected. His fraternity experience taught Maurice to celebrate diversity and to embrace empathy and understanding.
Since graduating from the School of Communication, Media & the Arts, Maurice has worked in several media positions, most notably as a distributor of independent films created by marginalized groups in Hollywood to big production companies, such as Netflix and BET. It was in this industry that he learned to promote himself and his ideas. “No one will hold your hand,” he said, adding, “You have to advocate for yourself.” That philosophy is key at Zaka, which aims to be a beacon of hope for the next generation of immigrant professionals. “It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Maurice said.
Herman, a second-generation immigrant, graduated from Sacred Heart’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology. Like Maurice, his old roommate, it was at the University that he discovered the value of community relationships and the power of collaboration. He was a member of La Hispanidad, campus ministry and the track team. He was also president of his fraternity and is the University’s only two-time winner of the Mr. SHU crown. His campus involvement instilled in him the core values and practices that he lives by every day, which include celebrating the journey that his life has taken him on so far.
Herman is tasked with motivating and inspiring those who join Zaka by interviewing successful immigrant leaders and sharing their stories on the platform’s My Journey Podcast. The podcast is designed to showcase motivational stories from first- and second-generation immigrants, highlighting unsung heroes and helping immigrants build a professional blueprint for success.
“My time at SHU taught me to embrace new surroundings and seek out ways to create inclusive environments everywhere my life takes me,” Herman said. “I always make sure the podcast listeners and the members of Zaka know that they have to enact the change they want to see in their life. Life is too precious to wait to have fun: you have to find the joy and meaning in your everyday life.”
Maurice and Herman are developing new collaborations within their local communities and hosting events and training sessions for large corporations. Their goal is to reach a broad, new audience as they help the next generation of immigrants succeed in the professional world.
