Alum Arturo Nuñez Inspires Homecoming Convocation Gathering: 20 Lessons Learned At FAMU
President Larry Robinson recognized speaker Arturo Nuñez (center) standing with his former classmate Shawnta Friday-Stroud, SBI dean and vice president for University Advancement. (Credit: Glenn Beil)
Florida A&M University (FAMU) alum Arturo Nuñez told “a love story” to impart 20 lessons he learned during his time as a student in the School of Business of Industry.
“In 1985, I was a freshman business administration major hailing from Harlem, New York, and Roselle, New Jersey, and I’m here to tell you that everything that I am and everything that I’ve done is because of what has happened to me at this University,” Nuñez told a cheering Al Lawson Multipurpose Center on Friday, Oct 27. “This University fundamentally changed my life.”
With a mixture of humor, nostalgia, wisdom and wit, Nuñez, founder and CEO of AIE Creative, used photos and a PowerPoint presentation to educate and entertain the large crowd of students, alumni, faculty and staff that gathered for the 2023 Homecoming Convocation.
“I’ve had the privilege and honor of working at some of the biggest and best corporations in the world, working primarily in marketing in those organizations, and telling stories throughout my 37-plus-year career in corporate America,” he said. “I am blessed to do that, but my journey started here.”
Nuñez rose to the upper echelons of NBA, Nike, Apple and Nubank before founding and leading AIE Creative. He also serves on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations and for-profit corporations. Nuñez grew up in a household with Cuban and Venezuelan parents. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, which he describes as his mother’s tongue. He has traveled to 93 countries, including Brazil, where he perfected his Portuguese.
He wasn’t impressed with the Tallahassee Airport the day he arrived from New York-New Jersey almost 40 years ago. That was the first lesson: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Nuñez spoke about returning to his off-campus residence at Governors Square Apartments to find his electricity had been disconnected. That was Lesson 5: “Pay your debts on time.”
Nuñez used photos of his rustic view from his former Paul Russell Road, Tallahassee, apartment and the post-graduation stark, brick apartment building in Montclair, New Jersey, to illustrate Lesson 6. “Don’t be in a rush.”
“It took me almost a decade to live as good as I lived at FAMU,” Nuñez said.
“The right place at the right time can change your life,” was Lesson 8.
“SBI was the right place at the right time that changed my life,” he said.
To illustrate Lesson 11 – “Each one, teach one. Demonstrate good living,” Nuñez, recalled the late William H. Ravenell, an attorney and long-time professor of Business Law. Ravenell, a former Florida secretary of the Department of Community Affairs who died in 2022, mentored students, employed them and invited them to his home so they could meet successful African Americans in the community.
“There are a lot of people living well. We’ve got to demonstrate that to our kids,” Nuñez said. “There’s nothing wrong with being Kanye (West) and LeBron (James), but Ravenell showed us it was possible to be articulate, intelligent, brilliant, give back to your community and live well, live very well.”
For Lesson 12, Nunez showed a photo of the Foote-Hilyer Administration Center, the former home of the Financial Aid Office. “The gates of hell,” Nuñez joked to widespread applause.
“Sometimes, the check is not in the mail, but figure it out anyway,” he said with a laugh.
“Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” he said to cheers. “Life will throw a curve ball at you.”
Early on during the two and a half-hour ceremony, SBI Dean Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., who also serves as vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation, Inc., introduced Nuñez, her former classmate.
Later, Nuñez returned the compliment, as he recalled then-student Shawnta Friday aspiring to be the next Dean Sybil Mobley. For Lesson 13: “Have a big audacious scary dream and go get them.”
“Shawnta said ‘I want to be Dean Mobley. I want to step into those visionary and legendary shoes,’” he said. “That’s courage personified. Have big audacious, scary dreams. That’s what we do at FAMU. We make dreams come true.”
Nuñez credited some of his former professors whose lessons extended far beyond their classrooms. There was the eloquent math professor Osiefield Anderson; Professor Julian Compton, who taught sociology and humanities. Nuñez credits him for Lesson 14: “Think outside the box.”
From Professor Larry Frieder, who taught corporate finance, a course Nuñez struggled with, he learned Lesson 15.
“Know what you don’t know. If you are going to find people who compliment your skills. I knew corporate finance wasn’t for me. I surrounded myself with brilliant people. That was my lesson from Dr. Frieder’s class.”
Nuñez remembered economics professor Rudi Daniels, as “a shining example of Black excellence, and I thank him for that.”
After his speech, Nuñez received the President’s Leadership Award from President Larry Robinson, Ph.D.
“I think you got the message across,” said Robinson, reading the award to Nuñez. “Thank you for being one of the top creative executives leading global marketing efforts with some of the most iconic brands, such as Apple Nike, NBA, Colgate and PepsiCo.”
Arturo Nuñez’s 20 Lessons Learned From FAMU
- Don’t judge a book by its cover.
- Sometimes it’s as bad as it looks; improvise.
- Sleep is essential, Spades is not.
- Ask questions before you leap.
- Pay your debts on time.
- Slow down where are you rushing to?
- Home cooking is always better.
- The right place at the right time can change your life.
- The only thing constant is change.
- Stay ready, so you never have to get ready.
- Practice makes perfect. Find your bag and get in it.
- Each one, teach one. Demonstrate good living.
- Sometimes the check is not in the mail. Figure it out anyway.
- Have a big audacious scary dream and go get them.
- Think outside the box. There is no growth in your comfort zone.
- Know what you don’t know. Find people who compliment your skills.
- Don’t get distracted.
- Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
- Master something. 10,000 hours.
- FAMUly is real. Choose carefully.
- Pay it forward. We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.
If you don’t follow your dreams, someone is going to pay you to follow theirs.