Zikra Kaleem

Hi all! I am Zikra Kaleem and I am a Graduate student at Holy Family University. I am working towards a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a focus on Student Affairs in Higher Education.  I received my B.S. in Health Psychology at MCPHS in Boston, MA in 2010. I have come a long way from being born in Nigeria to migrating to New York, Florida and then Pennsylvania while being of Indian descent. My recent voyage has been to a conference in Lithuania where I met people literally from all over the world. These various cultures enriched my perspective and fueled my passion for diversity. 

Beginning my diversity route in high school, I was a member of the Multicultural Club, Vice President of the Muslim Student Association at MCPHS and now an active member of the Graduate Student Advisory Board and the Student Affairs Council at Holy Family. By being a part of these organizations I am able to fulfill my desire to work with students of all backgrounds. 

I am excited that this Spring 2013, I will be joining Villanova’s Center for Multicultural Affairs as a Retention Advisor. I will also be an assistant summer program coordinator for the Unitas Weekend and VIEW Program along with other related responsibilities.

When I am not in school, I enjoy reading, cooking, outdoorsy activities (skiing, hiking, white water rafting, etc.), and watching a good movie!

Good Luck with your journey at Villanova University. I look forward to meeting and learning from you!

Dantawn Nicholson

I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, IL. After college, I decided to get away from home, which brought me to the east coast. I am currently enrolled at Villanova University in the Masters of Sustainable Engineering program. I graduated from Cheyney University, Pennsylvania with a Bachelors Degree in General Science. I was heavily involved there as I was a Resident Advisor, member of S.G.C.A., and an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity incorporated.

In my time at Cheyney, I also founded two organizations called The Brotherhood and The Sisterhood. They were founded to first help change the culture of our student life and also to increase the freshman retention rate, furthermore our graduation rate. One of our main initiatives was to “give back”, as we volunteered at Boys and Girls Clubs and high schools, tutoring and mentoring students. The Brotherhood and The Sisterhood are actually now two of the largest organizations on Cheyney’s campus.

With all of my experiences, and sincere passion for mentoring and being a positive male role model, I was more than excited when I received the offer to work in the Center for Multicultural Affairs as a Graduate Assistant at Villanova. I will be responsible for Active Phase 1, AAP, and the Unitas mentoring program and will also be working with other GA’s and the CMA to develop programs for freshmen retention. I will be working hard and diligently with my team to assure that our students have the best first year experience that they could imagine. I am looking forward to impacting lives and starting our freshmen off on the path to success.

George James - Life Coach

George James, Jr., MFT is a Couple and Family Therapist at Council For Relationships. Mr. James specializes in working with couples, improving communication in relationships, affairs, addictions, sex & intimacy, spirituality concerns as well as issues of race, class, gender and societal pressures.

He has been an expert guest on many TV programs including, It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle (an Emmy Award winning, issues-oriented talk show covering various topics with viewers from Maine to Florida) on the Comcast Network, FOX29, CBS3 and NBC10 programming (News & Entertainment programs on Philadelphia’s NBC, FOX & CBS affiliates). He has also been an expert guest on many radio stations including Philadelphia’s WURD 900 AM, WDAS 105.3 FM, and WPPZ 103.9 FM.

Mr. James is a nationally recognized speaker, workshop leader and lecturer on various topics. He has had over 250 speaking & media appearances in the past five years. His breath of expertise includes a special focus on topics geared towards athletes, actors/entertainers, college students, men, couples and people of color.

Mr. James is devoted to working with people to help them improve their quality of life, to be involved in the healing of their wounds and enrichment of relationships.