Lindsey Lerner '15 with interns Arnav Vaid '20 and Matthew Merolla '19
Lindsey Lerner ’15 with student interns Arnav Vaid ’20 (center) and Matthew Merolla ’19, at Level Exchange in Pawtucket, RI
Alumni helped Lindsey Lerner '15, now she helps students
Oct 02, 2018, by Staff Writer
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By senior year, Lindsey Lerner ’15, of Warwick, RI, was already connecting what she was learning at Bryant with her passion for music. The nexus between business and the arts has been her destination ever since. An irrepressible creative soul, her path wound its way through photography, music and the arts, a Global Studies degree, and now a new venture in creative content.

Alumni helped her launch her initial ideas with a major prize from the New Venture Business Plan Competition. Three years later, her company, Level Exchange, has opened a fully outfitted studio in Pawtucket, RI, where musicians and other content creators can record and collaborate. As her business model develops, Lerner is committed to helping students share this unique business environment alongside her.

Through the Amica Center for Career Education’s online internship postings, Lerner hired two students – Matthew Merolla ’19, from Johnston, RI, and Arnav Vaid ’20, from Mumbai, India.

“Giving back is a very high priority for me,” says Lerner. “And I think it’s super important to be able to find your passion and follow it through, especially with the tools that Bryant can give you. You have to get the tools, and you have to make your own toolbox. And you can do anything you want with that toolbox.”

“I’m very passionate about Bryant,” she says. “And if students ever need help, I’m like, ‘heck yeah, let’s figure this out! Whatever you need, let’s do it.’”

Merolla started working with Lerner his first year at Bryant. An interest in music and his experience at Level Exchange have opened a career path that he is passionate about. “What I found was so much more than I could have expected. I’ve expanded my network in a way that I could never have achieved on my own.” Merolla adjusted his original plan to major in Actuarial Math to take advantage of Bryant’s new Leadership and Innovation Management degree.

For Vaid, a Global Supply Chain major, the hands-on work experience was especially meaningful. “Because of U.S. employment law, many companies won’t consider an international student for an internship,” he says, “so I was happy to get an experience I never would have had anywhere else.”

Next summer Vaid hopes to be interning in finance. Merolla, who will graduate in December, looks forward to continuing to be part of a community of local creators. Lerner, meanwhile, continues to pursue her path and evolve Level Exchange into a content creation, collaboration, and co-working resource for the RI community. She will continue to reach back to help Bryant students create their own paths.

“I’m very passionate about Bryant,” she says. “And if students ever need help, I’m like, ‘heck yeah, let’s figure this out! Whatever you need, let’s do it.’”

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