A Story Students Need to Hear
Naiya's family emigrated from India when she was one year old. For years, they lived undocumented in Chicago—keeping their heads down, working relentlessly, and spending every free moment at the library.
"We were living under the radar for those years, but—nose to the grindstone—we made it work."
After gaining legal status, Naiya pursued her dream of becoming a judge. She earned her law degree and built a career as a federal attorney. But alongside that career, she bought her first apartment building—and discovered a different kind of power: the power of owning assets.
She built Lyric Investment Group from the ground up, managing multi-family properties in Chicago and single-family rentals in Southern California. She started a physician-only investment fund that generated 12–20% returns. She designed and built micro-apartments in Chicago's West Loop that leased out on day one.
"I love that I'm the money guy in the room. I am the reason that these projects happen, and I think that people often forget that women can be in private equity and finance, too."
Naiya speaks to students because she knows that financial literacy isn't something most families teach—especially immigrant families, families living paycheck to paycheck, or families where money was a source of conflict, not conversation. She wants every student to learn the language of money before they need it, not after they've been burned by it.