St. Charles Community College (SCC) held its second annual “Men of Color Success Summit” on March 4. A group of POC male students attended the event to discuss the tools and empowerment to overcome obstacles and meet their own personal goals as teens of color.

The event was filled with about 40-50 students from 12 different schools ready to hear about POC backgrounds.

“I decided to go to get an experience and more in touch with the culture,” senior Deion Cunningham said. “I would highly encourage others to have better backgrounds of our culture of being men of color.” He also mentioned some things learned from attending the summit, one being that “it’s okay to be yourself cause no one else will love you more than you.” 

Last year’s summit was held via Zoom and only had one presenter, while this year’s had many mentors who attended in-person.

“With us really being the only really colored guys in our grade who stand out, as student-athletes, we carry ourselves to a high standard,” senior KJ Lyles said. “We were chosen, and that was an honor.” At the Men of Color Success Summit, Lyles learned that he should surround himself people “who have the work ethic, and that it will take him far in life.”

For senior Jaden Betton, it was the first time he attended the summit.

“The biggest thing that stuck out to me was learning how to meditate and having peace with your inner self,” Betton expressed.

For many men, especially ones of color, being vulnerable and honest about emotions is a very difficult thing. So being able to have these events are a very special thing to be invited to. To future attendees, Betton says he “would encourage other men of color to participate in this event because it taught me a lot of things about myself and other people I never saw before… There are colored guys all over who are similar and come from the same background and the same struggles, situations, and coming together. Learning more about each other helps you learn about relationships.”