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DANION GREEN, 19 DEVIN ESPADRON, 20 Chief executive officer, Element Beverage Co. DEVIN ESPADRON AND DANION GREEN WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL AT ST. AUGUSTINE when they developed their business venture, Element Beverage Co., known for its signature pineapple lemonade. (The duo will launch two new flavors this month.) Element uses all-natural ingredients and pure cane sugar and doesn’t have preservatives. Made in Lafayette, the drink can be found in local grocery stores, including Canseco’s Markets, as well as restaurants including Manchu Food Store and Chinese Kitchen and at various downtown hotels. “A desire to be a successful entrepreneur brought me into this field,” Green says. “I wanted to be my own boss and make my own decisions, because the best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Chief operating officer, Element Beverage Co.
Instagram : @drinkelement Twitter & Facebook: @drinkelement1 www.drinkelement.us Espadron, who also is a musician, says he was inspired by Steve Jobs and Jay-Z. A trip to a Coca-Cola plant in high school solidified his interest in making beverages. The young duo is in talks to do partnerships with Coca-Cola and Nike. “I want to be the first African-American nonalcoholic partner with CocaCola,” Espadron says. The two also plan to expand their careers as they get older: Espadron wants to sign a record deal with a major label, and Green thinks he might have a future in real estate and venture capitalism. In the meantime, they frequently return to their alma mater to inspire high school students and discuss goal-setting. — SARAH RAVITS
GITI FARUDI, 36 Department chair, Department of Languages and lecturer of Spanish at Xavier University
www.xula.edu
Photo by Zack Smith
ORIGINALLY FROM WEST VIRGINIA, GITI FARUDI GREW UP FASCINATED BY LANGUAGE. She studied in Spain, Mexico and Cuba, and fell in love with the Spanish-speaking world. Farudi relocated to New Orleans in 2010, and as the youngest Xavier department chair in recent history, she has been instrumental in fighting against the weakening of language requirements while increasing the number of minors in foreign languages.