‘What I learned at Buffalo State’: Shomari James talks persistence, passion, and progress

Shomari James, ’01, credits his success to his mother’s guidance, his own persistence, and Buffalo State University, where faculty and staff mentors, hard-earned lessons, and a pivotal switch in majors transformed him from a struggling college student into a proud alumnus. 

Today, James is a serial entrepreneur with many business ventures; he said he is most proud of his role as cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Equity Now Inc., a non-for-profit education organization dedicated to providing financial education, strategic resources, and community-driven initiatives to empower communities, individuals and businesses in building sustainable economic growth and generational wealth.

James began his Buffalo State career studying electrical engineering, a field both he and his brother had been set on pursuing for years. But early in his academic journey, he encountered a significant stumbling block.

“When I went to go pay my bill, [I discovered] my GPA was a 1.98,” James said. “I called my mother, and she said, ‘I told you I was going to cover as long as you got good grades. You might want to take yourself to financial aid.’”

With help from the Financial Aid Office, James began to turn things around. “Once I started to pay for school myself, I was in the front of every class,” he said. “‘I have a question. What are your office hours? We need to talk about this. I need to get good grades.’ Not only because I was paying for this, but also to make my mom proud.’”

But even recommitting himself to his studies, James said he still felt something was off. 

“I found myself by myself a lot of the time in classes,” he said. “I was in labs, or on the program’s electronics workbench, and it was boring. I was burning my fingers on circuits, and thinking, ‘This is not for me.’” 

It was then that Proves R. Banks, a former Buffalo State lecturer, stepped in.

“He said, ‘Shomari, I’ve been watching you, and I think industrial engineering might suit your personality and your interests,’” James said. “I was like, ‘Let’s try it. Anything to get me out of calculus and away from integrals.’” 

Soon after switching his major to industrial technology with a concentration in quality assurance engineering, James said, things began to lock into place: his grades began to rise; he founded and served as president of the Buffalo State chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE); and he secured a position as a United Parcel Service (UPS) industrial engineering intern.

“I would always say, ‘I'm not good at math,’ because calculus was really kicking my butt,” James said, “but when I switched from electrical engineering to industrial engineering, I was taking statistics, which I absolutely love. The grades started flipping from C’s and D’s to A’s and B’s. Industrial engineering completely suited my personality because it was conversations with individuals from a support perspective, about standard operating procedures, policies, process improvement, and how can we fix things. I always felt like a fixer and a connector. Dealing with people and being around people gave me a lot of energy; it ignited me. I knew I had made the right decision.”

Whether working in transportation and logistics at UPS, ice cream at Nestle, grocery delivery at Peapod, the healthcare industry with Inova Health System, or even working at Howard University, James said his degree has proven useful in every job he’s ever held. 

“The degree that I earned is completely transferable,” he said. “Even in my current role as CEO of Equity Now, Inc., policies and procedures are the baseline for me. What gets measured makes progress, and I learned that as a Buffalo State student.”

It was also during his time as a Buffalo State student that James began to recognize his entrepreneurial spirit. One day, upon arriving at his UPS job from a NSBE conference, “something clicked.”

“I came [to work] in a three piece suit with red cufflinks,” James said. “Someone said, ‘Why do you have on a three piece suit? You’re not important enough to wear a three piece suit here.’ It was insulting yet enlightening. I decided I was going to move away from the traditional 9 to 5 thing and start my own business. I was going to buckle down and make sure that my studies were good, apply all that energy, and come out a professional. I didn’t ever want anybody to tell me what I should or should not wear, or hold a paycheck over my head.”

James formed many new businesses on the path to his now thriving organization, taking what he learned from each experience to make the next one better. 

“I continued to progress, seeing the successes and the failures in each business,” he said. “I kept iterating until ultimately, my co-founders and I started Equity Now, which is a successful 20 million dollar business.”

None of it would have been possible, James said, without the mentorship and guidance he received from Banks and other faculty and staff members at Buffalo State.

“What sets Buffalo State apart is that it’s such a small community with small class sizes,” he said. “That community meant that faculty and staff turned into friends and family. As a young, stubborn, confident student, one of the best things I did was take the time to listen to them. They could see that I was doing good things on campus, and they fed good energy back into me. Not every single student is not going to listen to every single adult, so find that adult that you're going to be able to listen to.”

James also emphasized the value of Buffalo State’s affordability, something he said is critical in today’s higher education landscape.

“As a steward of financial education, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the opportunity for the affordability at Buffalo State,” he said. “We all know individuals are saddled with debt; they're struggling. Students coming out of high school are thinking, ‘Do I go get a job? Is it college or career?’ They're looking to make that choice because college is becoming something that is just not affordable. Buffalo State was affordable for me.” 

“What sets Buffalo State apart is that it’s such a small community with small class sizes,” he said. “That community meant that faculty and staff turned into friends and family. As a young, stubborn, confident student, one of the best things I did was take the time to listen to them. They could see that I was doing good things on campus, and they fed good energy back into me. Not every single student is not going to listen to every single adult, so find that adult that you're going to be able to listen to.”

James also emphasized the value of Buffalo State’s affordability, something he said is critical in today’s higher education landscape.

“As a steward of financial education, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the opportunity for the affordability at Buffalo State,” he said. “We all know individuals are saddled with debt; they're struggling. Students coming out of high school are thinking, ‘Do I go get a job? Is it college or career?’ They're looking to make that choice because college is becoming something that is just not affordable. Buffalo State was affordable for me.” 

James’ journey exemplifies the power of education, resilience, and purpose-driven impact. No matter what is ahead, he knows he will always be using his Buffalo State education and continue to help children, families and communities learn the importance of generational wellness and financial education.

“I am deeply committed to mentorship, advocacy, and fostering spaces where people can thrive,” James said. “My mission is to create sustainable pathways for success, particularly for those historically underserved. I have continued to amass a bunch of information as much as possible in many different industries, but all rooted in what I learned at Buffalo State.”

Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.