Students from Penn State Berks, 阿宾顿和利哈伊山谷在黑人和棕色人种创始人项目会议上学习了创业经验, Oct. 9 to 10, at the University City Science Center in Philadelphia. The organization’s founder, Aniyia Williams, 10月11日，他在澳门威尼斯人官网伯克分校发表了关于有色人种企业家面临的问题的演讲. 11.
威廉姆斯曾是澳门威尼斯人官网伯克分校和大学公园分校的学生，2007年毕业于澳门威尼斯人官网施赖尔荣誉学院. She is the founder of Tinsel, 这是一家总部位于旧金山的可穿戴技术公司，生产时尚的阳极氧化铝吊坠式耳机, suspended from stainless steel chains plated with gold or gun metal. The inspiration came from Williams’ background as a music major, her experience working with startup companies and Silicone Valley, and her love of fashion.
While the product has received positive reviews in fashion magazines, 威廉姆斯在为《澳门威尼斯人官网》筹集资金时遇到了很多障碍. 作为一名有色人种女性企业家，她努力奋斗的结果是，她继续创建了 Black & Brown Founders Project, 这是一个全国性的非营利组织，“为黑人和拉丁裔创始人提供资源和社区，帮助他们在不依赖风险资本的情况下建立成功的公司。.”
根据威廉姆斯的说法，黑人和拉丁裔女性获得的风险投资不到所有风险投资的1%.
The group, made up of 14 students -- nine from Berks, three from Abington, and two from Lehigh Valley campus, 是否对这次会议非常热情，并从中获得了许多有用的建议，这些建议可以应用到他们未来的职业生涯中. 有些人计划成为企业家，但所有人都对针对有色人种学生的指导表示赞赏.
Brothers Tristan and Tahj Morales attended the conference. Tristan, 他是伯克大学信息科学与技术以及安全与风险分析双专业的大二学生, 是一家名为Traduki Technologies的初创科技公司的首席技术官, 它为医疗专业人员和企业提供实时语言翻译服务.
He stated, “我想参加这次会议，以获得对我目前创业的宝贵建议. 在会议结束时，我对如何在我们目前生活的技术社会中正确经营和建立自己的业务有了深刻的见解, which included various financial, marketing, and business strategies.”
Meanwhile Tahj, 一年级学生，计划主修生物化学和分子生物学，辅修商科, commented. “我想更深入地了解如何在没有大量现有资金来源的情况下进入科技和创业行业. 这两天充满了与不同领域的有色人种专业人士的一对一接触和互动讨论. While I don't plan on launching any businesses just yet, I know the first steps I must take in order to do so, 我确信肤色和口音不会限制一个人改善世界的潜力."
In addition to Tristan and Tahj Morales, other Berks student attendees included Symone Corbin, Tyrone Free, Gabriela Gonzales-Magana, Miguel Hingada, Nathan Sylvain, Jovan Tate and Jocelyn Vargas. 他们和莫拉莱斯兄弟一样，对有机会参加这个独特的活动充满热情和感激之情.
“我想参加这次会议，因为我想学习新的东西，这将有助于我作为一名企业家的发展,” added Symone Corbin, a senior communication arts and sciences major at Berks. “我希望获得洞察力和建议，以便了解我将来尝试创办非营利组织时可能面临的挑战,”
The mission of the Black & 布朗创始人项目有两个目的:为黑人和拉丁裔创始人提供知识, tools and cutting-edge tactics to build successful companies without relying on venture capital; and build a community of Black and Latinx founders to network and share resources with each other.”
Gabriela Gonzalez-Magana, a sophomore computer engineering major at Berks stated, “This conference made me realize that your skin color and your ethnicity do not reflect the person you are; what really defines you is the desire you have to be successful in life. 我从这次会议中学到的最重要的一课是，当你看到自己是一个群体中唯一的有色人种或女性时，永远不要放弃.”
“我带回家的信息和经历是惊人的,” comments Jocelyn Vargas, a senior criminal justice major with a minor in Spanish at Berks.
“There was a lot of black and brown excellence in that room. I felt like it was a safe haven for me and my peers. 我们常常没有机会去同情那些和我们一样的人, 每一位演讲者都让我们看到了他们作为一个成功企业家的真实个性和思维过程. Even more, 他们谈到了生活在一个黑人和棕色人种受到不公平待遇(尤其是在企业家方面)的社会是什么感觉。.”
Tyrone Free, a junior majoring in psychology at Berks, added, “这是一个联系和结识与我肤色相同的人的机会，他们开始自己创业，成为企业家. 我学到了很多关于如何组建团队、为公司融资和管理时间的知识. 看到人们聚在一起互相学习和倾听是令人兴奋的.”
在黑人和棕色人种创始人会议上吸取的经验教训对巴尔加斯有直接的好处. “My mother has a cake business, 所以我能够为她带回一些有成效的反馈，这样我们就可以提升她的业务.”
Tristan Morales summarized by saying, “This conference was a great opportunity, one that I am grateful to have been invited to and been apart of. 我希望像我这样来自不同种族背景的人也有机会体验这样一个热情而鼓舞人心的会议.”
