By Justin Erickson '25 BSB, Content & Design Assistant
May 8, 2023

A line has formed in the Carlson School basement, as students wait for their turn to sit before the camera. The students who work for Univeil hand out food, man the cameras and, founder Pranav Karmacharya ‘24 BSB shakes the hands of guests as they join him for an interview. 

Univeil Studios is a student-run media production organization founded in January 2022. Univeil was founded by Karmacharya and four other Carlson School students, and their current team stands at seven students. Their mission is to inspire, motivate, and encourage others by unveiling the talent, stories, and creativity of underrepresented individuals from around the world.

“I observed that there were many gifted underrepresented students, but few media outlets that focused on showcasing them,” said Karmacharya. “In high school, I was quite discouraged by this since I knew I wanted to accomplish great things in the tech field but I didn't see many people that looked like me and didn’t have many people to look up to.”

Univeil highlights underrepresented individuals primarily through their Instagram, where they post video interviews. They uplift student voices across the United States, and have highlighted students from Harvard, Northwestern, and USC. Univeil also connects with none-students to share their stories, and they have spotlighted professionals from Google, Disney, Abbott, Deloitte, and other companies. They primarily reach out to students and professionals on LinkedIn, using that platform to find underrepresented talent and ask if they are open to an interview. 

“We want to connect with members of the community that have done extraordinary things in school, career, or personal life,” said Yahye Hussein ‘24 BSB, Univeil’s Director of Relations. “We want someone that can tell their story and be transparent in the process so that others can learn from them.”

Univeil partnered with Genesys Works, an organization dedicated to providing pathways for underrepresented high schoolers to find success, in August 2022 to host a career fair interview event with over 50 Fortune 500 firms and more than 100 students of color attending. 

One of Univeil’s greatest strengths is the team behind it. Each member of the small group of students brings different strengths to the table, which allows the company to find success.

“Something that has surprised me the most would be my team's level of ingenuity and motivation,” said Karmacharya. “My team never fails to astound me with their incredible ideas and suggestions for how we may successfully and effectively bring our community together in a variety of ways.”

However, there have been challenges along the way. As a small team, Univeil sometimes has too much on its plate, especially with editing videos for the platforms they operate on and reaching an audience. 

“Working on social media can be tough,” said Joel Steenari ‘23 BSB, Univeil’s Chief Financial Officer. “Building an audience often takes a long time and you have to make sure you are posting content that people want to see and that they truly care about.”

As Carlson School students, the members of the Univeil team have already developed a well-rounded understanding of business through their courses. These courses have given the Univeil team a foundation to build off.

“The knowledge I gained in class really helped me launch Univeil from the ground up with my team and taught me many strategies to make Univeil successful,” said Karmacharya. “I've learned the value of networking and communication, which are crucial because the foundation of Univeil is based on developing trusting relationships with students from all over the world to hear their experiences.”

Univeil has recently worked with the Carlson School and the student group 180 Degrees Consulting, expanding their network and reach with students. 

“I hope to see Univeil be the most meaningful media organization for underrepresented students and be a platform with tens of thousands of videos that highlight the talent, stories, and creativity of people of color globally,” said Karmacharya.

You can learn more about Univeil on their Instagram, Youtube, and LinkedIn accounts @UniveilStudios.