Do everything in your power to make the world a better place
Devin Sherron was 23 years old, and in that short amount of time, he became the kind of person people describe in superlatives — because of how consistently, how specifically, he showed up for the people around him.
Devin was the one who remembered what you were nervous about, who meant it when he asked how your weekend was, who made the new kid feel like they'd been there all along. If you were lucky enough to be in his orbit, it didn't matter if you'd known him since you were seven or since last spring, it was a friendship for life.
He didn't need a title, a platform, or a big moment to make people feel like they mattered. He just needed a conversation. This is the belief he left behind — and the organization built to carry it forward.
Who Devin was…
Here's the thing people say most about Devin, in one form or another: he made me feel seen. That sounds simple. It isn't. Making someone feel genuinely at ease takes attention. He looked you in the eye and asked about what actually mattered to you. He brought different groups together and made everyone feel like they belonged. He was magnetic without demanding attention, accomplished without needing recognition, and completely, unmistakably himself.
His energy and authenticity showed up everywhere. He earned his Eagle Scout rank as a kid in Monroe Township, had a profound respect for veterans and a deep love for animals, graduated with honors from SUNY Albany, and built a reputation as an analyst for Goldman Sachs for character as much as competence. Off the clock, it was guitar, concerts, chasing adventures, skiing, and living life to the fullest with full send energy.
Relationships were the through-line — family, childhood friends, college friends, colleagues, and his girlfriend, who became the center of his entire world. He had a rare ability to move between communities and connect people. He found something worth knowing in every person he met. That kind of presence changes people. It creates ripples that continue long after the original moment has passed.
How his life became a mission…
Devin lived by one guiding belief:
“DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE”
He didn't say it as a slogan. He demonstrated that making the world better is not reserved for people with enormous influence or extraordinary resources.
It begins with the person in front of you. It begins with how you show up.
Make a Better Place takes that principle and builds it into something to carry his light forward. In his memory, Make a Better Place awards a scholarship each year to a young person who embodies that same spirit: showing up, including people, choosing kindness when it would be easier not to.
Be kind. That's the whole idea. Everything we do is built on it.