Richie Sebuharara MS ’19 ’scores big’ in empowering local students and building diversity

For Richie Sebuharara, Binghamton University served as a springboard to launch him into a fulfilling career. Though he admits, at first, he didn’t truly realize what was available in his own backyard.

“I didn’t understand what the caliber of the university was,” he said. “When I came back after my undergraduate experience, I started to see how impactful Binghamton University is on the local community. It’s amazing to see the web that has spread out because of this campus.”

Born and raised in Vestal, NY, Sebuharara earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) — where he decided to go thanks to his three older siblings, two who also attended and one who opted to go to the nearby Buffalo State College. While attending college, he served as a resident advisor and participated in basketball and track and field as a student-athlete. It was through these activities he became interested and enthusiastic about teams, community and working together to solve problems.

Even so, Sebuharara said he didn’t quite know where to go from there.

“When I graduated, I didn’t have a clear direction. I knew I wanted to do something community-driven,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do something with teams and college-age students. I moved back to Binghamton and started working in the local area and coaching basketball, and then I was introduced to the Student Affairs Administration program here on campus.”

He ultimately decided to pursue a master’s degree in the field and graduated in 2019. After some time as a resident director at Mountainview College, Sebuharara found a new home on campus as the assistant director of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), which began his post-graduation career.

After about five years in the role, he said that he gained valuable experience working with student populations and various organizations, both on- and off-campus. When an opportunity as the director of Upward Bound in the Department of TRIO Student Support Services became available, he was encouraged by the chance to use his skills and schooling in a new way, for both the campus and the local community.

“I wanted to push myself and challenge myself in a new way to build on some of these connections,” he said. “Taking all the great experience and the skills that I got in the MRC and utilizing it with students in the local community to help them on their way to college is so fulfilling.”

TRIO Upward Bound is a federally funded college prep program for low-income, first-generation local high school students. Comprised of an assistant director, three academic counselors and an administrative coordinator, the team manages 11 schools in the region, helping the students at those locations with whatever is going on in their high school lives — not least of all, their college applications or homework, for example. The purpose of the program is to help Upward Bound students establish the skills and resilience to attend institutions of higher learning.

In addition, they bring students to campus monthly to show them different resources, provide college tours throughout New York State and neighboring states and host them in a six-week residential program on campus, for a comprehensive and high-impact collegiate preparatory experience.

“The students go to class and complete programming throughout the summer to ingratiate themselves with the university community,” Sebuharara said. “Then, once the four weeks are done, we take them out for a three-day, overnight trip to different colleges, to explore their options.”

All of it, Sebuharara added, wouldn’t be possible without the support of Binghamton’s campus and the local area. When people come together and share their networks and resources, the sky is the limit on what you can achieve.

“Binghamton is like a diamond in the rough. At times, it might seem small or out of the way. But when you get here, and you take that opportunity to say, ‘What can I learn from this campus?’ — there’s so much more to this area than meets the eye. I am very happy to be in this position here on this campus, and to share opportunities, just like the people who opened doors for me and allowed me to grow as a young professional.”