Where Are They Now?

TWU's College of Business recognizes alumni who have graduated and accomplished much in their professional lives. Inspiration plays a major role in what we do best at the College of Business and through these testimonials future students begin to see their own educational journey, knowing we’re here to encourage them along the way. 

Cynthia Nevels '96

A passion for creating and expanding small companies launched a successful career for Cynthia Nevels (BA '96, BA '10), who shares her business acumen with aspiring entrepreneurs globally.

Nevels is founder and senior partner of Integrality LLC, established in 2000 as a management consulting firm specializing in the design and delivery of solutions to business needs. Based in Dallas, Integrality supports start-ups and established businesses with services ranging from management, personnel training and marketing strategies to technology integration and financial assistance. Nevels formed the company out of a desire to help others by sharing her knowledge.

“I’m able to relate and communicate with women as a business owner, building a rapport,” she says, crediting her TWU coursework.

In a totally different business venture, Nevels established her organic fast food company, Soulgood, for diversification and as a “passion business.” She developed Soulgood as a popup kitchen at the Dallas Farmers Market and, late last year, debuted a Soulgood Food Truck – the first organic vegan and vegetarian fast food truck in North Texas.

Nevels undertook the food project as inducement to encourage her son, Tyler Nelson, born with Cystic Fibrosis, to eat healthfully. As a teenager, he wasn’t interested in eating “rabbit food,” so Nevels became innovative to trick him into thinking he was eating meat, not vegetarian meals.

She became really good at it, so good that she was featured in CEO MOM Magazine. So good that she was featured on a segment of the nationally syndicated TV show Harry, distributed by NBC Universal and hosted by Harry Connick Jr.

In the segment, Nevels serves her Italian Po’ Boy sandwich to Connick, who can’t tell that the vegetarian sausage isn’t meat. She sells the sandwich and other favorites out of her Soulgood food truck.

Tyler died from transplant complications in 2015. Nevels donates a percentage of the revenue from her food business to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in his memory. 

Chermine Jackson '16

Chermine Jackson, a senior claims benefit analyst for health insurer Aetna Inc.’s Medicaid department, always knew she was a leader and felt she could contribute more to society if she was able to step out of her introverted comfort zone. Developing leadership skills while getting her MBA at TWU’s School of Management helped her do just that and made her more marketable professionally.

What she didn’t expect was how much she would grow personally through her master’s journey. By participating in professional networking events sponsored by the School of Management at TWU’s Denton and Dallas campuses and working with her professors, Jackson learned it was okay to make her own business decisions and how to lead through the strengths that come naturally to her.

“The sky is now the limit to what I can accomplish,” Jackson said. “My ultimate goal is to open a boys and girls club in Southeast Dallas, motivating youth to believe in themselves by encouraging them to become the first generation in their families to graduate from college, no matter what obstacles they face.”

Jackson, who also has an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, is a first-generation college graduate herself and credits her parents for the encouragement and her three children for the motivation.

“My hope is that my son and daughters see the results of my degrees and know that college is the right path for them, too,” Jackson said. “Thanks to the education I received at TWU, I am ready to give back to my community and my university.”

Page last updated 4:52 PM, September 10, 2021