Binghamton University held its first Men of Color Summit this past weekend.

Students and staff at BU, along with students from neighboring schools, gathered in the Innovative Technologies Complex on Saturday for a daylong list of programming. Among the event’s plans were networking workshops and a Q&A with panelists from a variety of professional backgrounds.

The event was presented by multiple BU divisions and departments, including the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) and the Men of Color Scholastic Society.

Richie Sebuharara, assistant director of the MRC, said the idea for the event came about in 2019, born out of a desire to provide students of color with a sense of community.

“I’m really excited that we were able to bring so many people from the community, from other campuses — [BU’s] campus, [Broome Community College’s] campus, to really meet with each other, network with each other [and] get to know each other,” Sebuharara said.

The event kicked off with a keynote address by Richard Lui, a journalist and news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News. Lui discussed his experience using selflessness as a guiding philosophy through his career — a theme further explored in his book, “Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness,” which was distributed to attendees.

Lui’s speech was followed by networking lunches and workshops, after which a Q&A was held with multiple professional panelists, including multiple attorneys and a retired New York Police Department (NYPD) detective.

The first question posed to panelists asked them what they had gained from their experiences at BU.

Josué “JQ” Quiñones, an educator, speaker and motivational master of ceremonies, said he had joined the University in 2005 as an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) student, and quickly learned the benefit of introspection.

“Honestly what I’ve learned throughout my experience at [BU] was the importance of discovering yourself, and understanding yourself deeply,” Quiñones said. “I’m very big on mental and emotional wellness, and I learned that through my experience as a student.”

Along with other speakers, Quiñones said he had initially found it difficult to break away from harmful “tendencies” he had developed from his home community, and was on the verge of failing his classes before he had received help from his EOP adviser.

“Growing up, I was always looking for a place to belong,” Quiñones said. “I was always trying to fit in. I was always trying to be cool. So when I came to college, that sort of came with me, and I didn’t realize that — I didn’t really know who I was.”

Quiñones encouraged students to reach out to available resources, as resources like mental health treatment become increasingly socially acceptable.

Another question asked panelists to describe the challenges they faced as people of color. Ralph Gonzalez, a retired NYPD detective and president of Atlas Unmanned Solutions, said he had initially struggled with developing literacy skills after being taught in an inner-city school.

Despite this, Gonzalez and other panelists said the audience should remember to keep working at improving themselves. Gonzalez said he personally still chooses to write down terms he is not familiar with so he can learn about them later. Gonzalez reminded students of the availability of resources to help them.

“Why am I telling you this?” Gonzalez said. “Because it’s not impossible. The same struggles that I had, some of you guys may have, and there are resources out there. I was constantly constantly sitting there in other writing centers — you’re paying for all of this. They all [don’t] do it just because they love you — they do — but a lot of the resources that are there are there because you are paying for them.”

The event closed with a speech by Ty Muse, CEO of Visions Federal Credit Union. Muse described the road to gaining his position, as his father was a high school dropout, and his mother a church secretary. Muse told the audience to, most importantly, prioritize and develop their strengths.

“Focus on what you’re doing right,” Muse said. “Focus on the things you’re good at and become great at them. If you spend a lot of time trying to become marginally better at something you are really bad at — you’re really bad at it for a reason … People will pay you for the things you are great at.”

At the conclusion of the event, students and other attendees were encouraged to meet with the panelists and network. One student attendee, Galileo Savage, BU’s EOP ambassador and a sophomore majoring in political science, said he was inspired by the speakers.

“One of the biggest things I took away from it is that unity is key,” Galileo said. “Understanding that we are capable of anything. I think a lot of times as men of color we step back and we feel as if there are things we can’t do, but one thing that I really honed in on is we can. [We are] really changing that narrative and making sure that we’re understanding the fact that whatever we put our minds to we can accomplish. We are no different than anybody else, we are all capable — this University, [BU] as a whole, is filled with great individuals that can do anything they put their minds to.”