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Imani Davis started out her college career planning to be a business major. The Piscataway High School graduate always had an enterprising nature.

That instinct, and her talent for working in a collaborative group, flourished during Davis's semester abroad in South Africa. Unprodded and completely separate from their studies, Davis and two dozen other students founded a nonprofit organization called Sibambisene—"we are working together" in Zulu.

"We all thought, 'We should probably be doing something positive for this community. There is so much that we can offer so why don't we just do something about it?' No one told us to do it, and no one before us or after us did anything like it," Davis said.

And so the schoolchildren of Trustfeed township in South Africa's Kwa-Zulu Natal province have benefited from student-led training and teaching in art, music, computers, and environmental and AIDS education. "We taught on the weekends and in whatever free time we had," Davis said.

Davis is graduating from Rutgers this year with a major in communication and a minor in economics. In the fall, she will start the master of communication and information studies at Rutgers' School of Communication and Information. Davis is also a Johnson & Johnson Fellow. While pursuing her master's degree, she will work in corporate contributions at Johnson & Johnson for 20 hours each week.

When she returned to the United States from South Africa, Davis knew she wanted to work in corporate America, but not necessarily in the name of profit. She wanted to continue the type of work she started in South Africa—helping people improve their lives. But she also wanted to make a significant impact.

"As an individual you can only do so much," Davis said. "But a Johnson & Johnson or a Wal-Mart can do so much through their foundations."

Davis looked to the School of Communication and Information to start her educational journey toward philanthropy. "Most social responsibility and philanthropy programs are based on communication. Choosing to major in communication made the most sense for me in terms of helping people," she said.

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