By Alex Rivero
News Editor, ‘09

Right off Kennedy Boulevard, hidden at the core of one of Montgomery Avenue‚Äôs legions of multi-family edifices, in a surreally tight corner on a surprisingly quiet third floor, Senior Jaleel Kindell ‚Äì donning a semi-fresh white wife beater, sweatpants, and a tired yet warm smile — welcomes me into his apartment with a sturdy handshake. Casually leading me down a small corridor and into the kitchen, he runs off about eight apologies for the messy state of the place as we walk. I grab a folding steel chair and sit facing the refrigerator, my curiosities about this gentleman suppressed by thank you‚Äôs and small-chatter as I wait for him to finish hurriedly wipe down the littered table with a moist clothe.
Judging by his humility, it would be surprising for anyone to discover that such a happy-go-lucky 22-year-old college student could in fact be the CEO and founder of his own production company, Moon Six Communications. Looks, at least in this example, have proven to be quite deceiving.
And yet, along with the fact that he has his own company, Jaleel’s recent past is just as interesting. Interning at Interscope and Sony during a four month visit to Los Angeles in the summer of 2006, he was one of the fortunate few who got to help on Gwen Stefani’s album “The Sweet Escape.” From LA, he flew to Israel to help manage an Israeli artist named Dani B. He was taken aback at the different settings, customs, and overall ways of life. “It was nutty being 21, in Israel, in a room full of Jewish executives,” he recalls.
All of his experiences away from home proved to lead up to the summer of 2008, he notes, as his newfound friendship with Sarah Friedlan, an International Business and Trade major at St. Peter’s, added just the right touch of cohesiveness to his budding project. Claiming to just be paying attention and “doing her best to learn about music,” Sarah brings both humor and fresh energy into every project the company now sets itself on. “Sarah is the glue that holds everything together for us,” he said, nodding his head in certainty.
Asked who some of his biggest influences are, Jaleel deeply exhales, as though I have asked him to define the color red.  “The type of music isn’t really all that important,” he finally states, “What I look for is anything that can be considered timeless.” Michael Jackson, Prince, and Damien Rice are some of the artists that fit the description.
Even though Moon Six is still a maturing enterprise, the idea for the framework has been floating in Jaleel’s mind for a long time. He says he made a pact to himself once he got to college that, upon his graduation, he would not be in a position where he would have to seek out employment and work for someone else, “I said to myself, I will not get a job from anyone. I will work for myself, be my own boss, and work according to my own standards.”
The company now boasts an impressive lineup, including DAY26, the group handpicked by Sean “Diddy” Combs at the finale of “Making the Band 4,” Zacksoufrine and a pop-artist and friend of Jaleel’s from high school, and one of the producers on Kanye West’s 2008 Grammy-winning album, “Graduation.”
Music and business are an obsession to him, so much so that he chose to incorporate the Business Law minor into his busy schedule that, apart from handling his own business, includes being a regular Business Administration student at the College. He sites Steve Jobs, Russell Simmons, and Virgin CEO Richard Branson as some of his real-world influences in picking a course of study and a path to follow after graduation.
“The only way to truly succeed in this world is to study those who have been successful before me and figure out what they did wrong in order to do better,” he says, peering over at Sarah for an additional comment.
“People think we’re crazy sometimes. But I say, ‘why not?’ With the economy in the way that it is, we’re just going to ride this baby ‘till the wheels fall off,” Sarah says, punctuating with a giggle.
One has to wonder, at times, why we are even in college in the first place. As personal a question as that may be for each and every one of us, it is safe to determine that Jaleel Kindel and his cohorts over at Moon Six have found an answer to that. “Saint Peter’s College pretty much changed my life. I’m from Portland and coming here – more than changing my life – I think it really started my life. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life when I got here, and then I saw the immense potential, opportunities, and cultures, and something in me just clicked.”