For many, college is the time where people figure out who they want to be and where they want to go. More often than not, those aspirations are shaped by the people around you. Your shared experiences and values, along with their support and encouragement can shape the path you choose for good. For our generation, that sense of community is harder to find than ever before, with many of us feeling like we’re alone in our journey to make our dreams come true.
Whether it’s the job market, student loan debt or even just choosing your classes it’s easy to feel lost and unsure of what to do. The Latino Student Business Association provides a solution to this, giving its students the means and the support to live their best life in school and after it.
One of the oldest clubs on campus, LBSA started in 1973 around the same time that the Chicano Student Center laid down its roots on campus. The push for ethnic centers on campus had been strong at the time, prompting the creation of the club.
For many, they described their first interaction with the club as being friendly and inviting. Neida Zamora described finding a calling with the club as the External Affairs Director, “‘[I’d] heard a lot about this specific organization through word of mouth from my peers, but I joined a little bit later than some other people. I barely got involved my third year, and I officially met people from the organization at the tabling sessions that go on at the Bell Tower. I love the involvement fairs and the tabling sessions. I think they are [a] great way for students who want to get involved, learn a little bit more and to actually get involved without it being so intimidating.”
The club focuses on developing professional skills to help with finding a job after college. Club president Irvin Garcia explains different aspects of professional development within the organization: “At the end of the day we’re all looking for jobs. So we do this by our guest speakers, our workshops and then our general meetings. We’ve had big companies come out from, like, Chase, Snapchat, TTI, Enterprise, a bunch of other credit unions and big companies. They come out, talk about their experiences and sometimes offer internships to our members.”
The average club meeting can vary from topics centered around professional development to collaborating with other organizations on campus, “lToday we have a [collaboration] with [the] club Quetzal. We’re going to be focusing on multiculturalism, so it’s just going to be a big workshop between both of us.”
Zamora added that they wanted to set their students up for success with workshops such as these. “We want students to know that there are other people on campus who feel uncertainty about approaching certain topics in the workspace, and who aren’t sure about how to navigate these spaces. At the end of the day, regardless of what we do as an org, we want to set up our students for success and at the same time build that sense of community,” she explained.
The organization also has smaller, more intimate meetings focused on professional development led by one to two club members in the school library. They offer resources such as reserved study spaces and mentorship programs with board members and alumni. The club even has a corporate relationship director who is in charge of connecting students with open internships.
The club took a hit during the pandemic, losing many critical connections. Christian Lopez, Internal Affairs Director, shared how there are several efforts underway to recover alumni connections, “I know this is something a lot of clubs had to face … I know we’re coming up on 52 to 53 years as an org on campus, so we’ve had a lot of alumni coming out of LBSA. and I know that the 2020 shutdown really cut off a lot of those connections that our org used to have, so that’s something we’ve definitely tried to rebuild.” He added that this year, they hope to connect with more people – including other clubs – to collaborate and gain recognition at the School of Business end-of-year banquet.
The Latino Business Student Association is committed to providing community, opportunity and genuine connection to those who are looking for a place to belong and call their own as they prepare for life beyond college. As a part of the diverse Latino student body here at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), LBSA gives their all into helping students succeed in the corporate world not just as resourceful and ambitious business people, but as proud members of their community.
