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Everyone comes with this mindset of
curiosity, with this mindset of
learning about new things and
growing as people, and so that I
think, has been one of the most
exciting parts of this journey
>> Having a strong Hispanic Student
Association was very important
to me, particularly because
it's strong part of my identity.
And so I was really glad of how
established that community was here
on campus.
>> Latinos, we're not
a monolith, right?
We're multi-ethnic,
we're multi-racial,
very intersectional.
And so we have two organizations
here on campus to support two sides
of that.
>> LASA stands for
Latin American Student Association.
And we also have the HBSA,
which is the Hispanic Business
Student Association.
Both are student associations that
celebrate Latin
heritage among students.
One of them is focused on
the experience of students born or
raised in the US.
And the other one,
last time were focused on
Latin American students who
are coming from other countries.
But we do a lot of stuff together
because we have this shared
cultural heritage.
>> What surprised me
about the community in LASA was how
easy it was to fit in while
at the same time standing out.
Automatically when I heard someone
speaking Spanish on campus, I was,
you speak Spanish, I speak Spanish,
let's be friends and
that was super easy.
And there were a bunch of other
things like our values,
where we were raised up abroad.
The fact that our families
are in other countries.
The fact that we have to
apply for visa.
All of those things join us and
makes us I guess similar.
Each of us is pursuing a different
passion.
Each one has their own career path.
Which I think it's very unique and
allows each and
every one of us to stand out.
>> HPSA is a beautiful organization
and so we do a lot of different
kinds of events from career,
academics and also culture and
community building.
And I love it because it's given me
the opportunity to meet some of
my closest friends and
I feel like it's a sense of home
here at the GSB.
>> One of the things I like about
LASA is that
we have events of all types.
We have social events to get
students to get to know each other
on campus as soon as we get here.
We have more business oriented
events where we get to meet
Latin American leaders, alumni, and
people who make us reflect about
our roles in business and
create career aspirations.
>> We put out a bunch of social
events to foster community,
get together and enjoy the things
that bonds us as people like music,
food, like dancing to Reggaeton and
all of these things.
>> I think when you're moving to
a different country, you're always
wondering to what extent you'll
feel included, like you belong,
to what extent you'll really
connect and relate to the people
that you're going to meet when you
go there, and I haven't found that
to be a problem at the GSB.
In fact, I think people are very
intrigued to hear where
you're from,
what experience you've had before.
They're intrigued to learn about
your culture and celebrate it, and
that has felt very special.
>> No matter where you come from,
there's definitely a place for
you here at the GSB.
My number one advice for
prospective students is to not
shy away from your story, to really
embrace what makes you, you.
And to honor that through your
application.
>> My advice to prospective
students is to go for it, apply.
I think a lot of us hold ourselves
back because we don't see a lot of
folks who look like us or
have our similar experiences.
And I would encourage all Latino
admits, applicants, to just go for
it, apply, take your shot,
you miss 100%
of the shots that you don't take.
>> What I'm most proud of being
part of the HPSA leadership is
really cultivating that safe haven,
that space where you belong and
one where you're able to bring your
full self.
>> I think it's exciting and
vibrant to have so
many Latin students here shaping
the future because I think people
here are ambitious, in a good way.
And they're going to go on and
do great things and I'm happy that
a lot of them are Latin American.
>> I think what makes me most proud
is that we celebrate
our culture and we really embrace
who we are as Latinos, and
we have so much pride of the work
that it took to get here and
how big this achievement is not
only for us, but for families.
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