This past December, the University suffered the loss of an extraordinary student, friend, brother and overall inspirational human being. Chris Mejia was 23 years old, in his fifth year at the University and was pursuing a double major in business marketing and management, as well as an IT minor.
“Chris always brought the bigness out of you, made you feel like you were bigger than you are and that anything is possible if you just set your mind to it,” Jason Horowitz said, a brother of Chris’ in Sigma Pi, as well as a close friend since his freshman year back in 2010.
Horowitz was also Chris’ little brother in the fraternity, but he explained their relationship went deeper than a title within their fraternity. “The bond Chris and I had formed so quickly was unbelievable, we just instantly became lifelong friends, we shared similar goals and aspirations,” he said. “Everyday we would plot on our futures. Chris was not only my best friend, that’d be an understatement, he was my future business partner, he was my future best man at my wedding, he just influenced me in so many ways and left a huge impact on my life. I’m blessed to have known him, he was an amazing person.”
Chris was very into marketing, business management and a huge nutrition buff; as Horowitz put it, “He was always trying to get a lot of things going.”
One of Chris’ largest contributions to the University was a healthy energy drink he began working on with his entrepreneurship class under Professor John Buzza of the business school. What started off as an in-class project quickly grew throughout the business department and received involvement from other parts of the University as well.
“Chris was the impetus behind us deciding on the product that we did decide on, which was a healthy energy drink,” explained Buzza. “Let’s put it this way, if it weren’t for Chris, we would never have gotten half as far with this product. Chris was a leader of the class, he developed the formula and helped develop the website. He motivated all the other departments as far as sales, where to go, what we think our target market is and what’s our secondary market.”
Chris was all about health and nutrition and he knew the industry very well, as well as knowing quite a bit about the makeup and the ingredients that would go into a healthy energy drink, Buzza explained.
Chris, along with other students, felt that there was a void in the industry, with plenty of available energy drinks out there, yet none that focused on health. Buzza said, “Chris gave us the direction that we are going in right now, without his leadership and without his insight, we would probably be going in maybe another direction.”
Buzza, along with all the students involved, decided that all the profits generated from this product would go towards Chris’ mom and his family.
“I respected Chris as a person,” Buzza said. “I think given his effort, given what he contributed, everything we achieve with this product will be his legacy.”
The students of the business school, led by Buzza, put their efforts and due diligence into this project that Chris laid the foundation for.
“We have nowhere to go with this other than to donate the profits to his family, because without him we wouldn’t have this product… I’m thrilled to be able to head this thing and give his sister’s and his mom what is due to them, and it’s all through Chris, it’s a great legacy.”
Chris was one to always put his family first. Horowitz said, “Everything Chris did, he did for his family. He wanted to make a lot of money for his family, it was all for his family.”
Chris had just gotten a job as a nutrionist a week before the accident, which was his dream job.
Cameron Nichols, Chris’ roommate last year, referred to him as inspirational, witty, very positive and an all-around great guy. “Having Chris in your life,” Nichols began, “You got something special. Every time you’re with him you got something new, there was never a dull moment.”
Chris loved to watch American Horror Story, Breaking Bad, Family Guy and American Dad. A fan of house music and the New York Giants, he shared many interests you’d find in your average Monmouth student, but Chris was far from your average student.
If you were to have ever looked at Chris’ left arm you would have seen a tattoo of a lion. Around that lion’s neck was a mane in the shape of the heart. “He truly did have the heart of a lion,” said Nichols.
A.J. Pappas is a junior at the University and was also a close friend of Chris’. He said, “Chris was just a genuine human being, he always wanted the best for you and was just so self-driven and had so much motivation for life in general; he was a role model. He impacted everyone’s lives he was friends with; he was a colossal person with a personality to match.”
The University granted Chris his degree making him the first of his family to graduate from a University.
