Since its founding in 2020, Black Mindz — a student organization centered around mental health — has spread its programming at and around Marquette University. But now, as of April 10, the group dedicated to serving students of color at local high schools, campuses and companies has taken on a new label: LLC.
The organization hosted their LLC launch party in the 707 Hub on April 10.
Gabby Shoulders, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and director of corporate partners for Black Mindz, was a first-year student when she first got involved. She said it was difficult to feel like she belonged at Marquette, in a space when few people looked like her.
“It’s very easy for people like us, students of color, to be pushed back,” she said. “We wanted to create a space where students of color could know that they matter, that their mental health matters, and that we see them and we know what they’re going through.”
In 2023, Maiya Campbell (Arts & Sciences ’23) was joined by Jasmine Scott, India Lock and Shoulders to revive the Black Mindz organization on campus. As the current leaders of the club were graduating, Scott, Lock and Shoulders — all first-year students — could be the fresh start Black Mindz needed.
Though Lock, Shoulders and Scott are now seniors, they spent their years at Marquette reestablishing Black Mindz as an organization, as well as helping it grow into an LLC.
“We really are not doing this for ourselves,” Shoulders said. “We are doing this because we see what people need.”
Black Mindz holds meetings in the Arrupe Center and the Alumni Memorial Union once a month. Each meeting has an agenda which consists of introducing and informing members on a mental health topic followed by an open floor-style conversation with an activity.
Because the organization only exists at Marquette, its four co-founders were inspired to pursue the Brewed Ideas Challenge to turn their campus club into a business. The Brewed Ideas Challenge, in partnership with the Brady Corporation, is a pitch competition that gives students the opportunity to turn their ideas into real business ventures.
Finalists participate in the Brewed Ideas Bootcamp, receiving one-on-one mentoring from an expert and honing their skills to compete for a share of $27,000 in seed funding, money used to develop a start-up. In 2024, Black Mindz LLC won $7,500 to start their business and work to break the stigma around mental health through open dialogue among students.
Outside of their budding business, they have created a space for people to feel safe and be seen.
“I think they’ve stayed true to their core and what they wanted their impact to be as an organization,” Olivia Stieber, a senior in the College of Nursing and roommate of Shoulders and Scott, said. “I’m excited to see all the things that they have in store.”
Now, the group is looking to expand locally by opening a Black Mindz chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Additionally, leaders have spoken with Milwaukee Public Schools administrators to launch their program in high schools.
The co-founders of Black Mindz LLC also hope to create a non-profit and sell merchandise to sustain themselves financially. So far, the group has been operating through the award winnings, pocket money and community support.
As a non-profit, Black Mindz would be able to fund their organization without requiring club members to pay a fee, Campbell said. The group wishes to continue having free membership so students can be a part of the organization without having to pay.
Flashback three years to 2023, and the 707 Hub is where the four co-founders, mentor and advisors started planning their business model for the Brewed Ideas Challenge. In 2024 it was where the group first won the challenge. Now, in 2026, with friends, family and supporters in the crowd holding back tears, it’s also where they launched their Black women-owned LLC and business.
“We thought it made sense to come back to this space now to celebrate how far we came,” Campbell said.
This story was written by Mina Marsolek-Bonnet. She can be reached at wilhelmina.marsolek-bonnet@[email protected].Â
