History

History
History of LBSA Fund and Latino Business Student Association

In 1997 Ulysses Romero and Eddie Martin, both students at the Walter A. Haas School of Business realized that there were few Latinos admitted into the school. They attributed the lack of Latino representation at Haas to the few resources on campus available to Latinos aspiring to gain admission to the Haas school of business. Although there was  a handful of business clubs on campus they lacked a strong support system for Latinos. As they were both starting their senior year in the Fall of 1998 they feared that their vision for a stronger Latino community on campus would end with them.  With the help of Jorge Rodriguez, whom became the third founder, the three of them worked long and hard in the summer of 1998 putting together the agenda, their vision and goals for the organization and, thus,  the Latino Business Student Association was founded at UC Berkeley in the fall of 1998.

The organization started with five objectives.  The first two were to increase the Latino representation in the Haas School of Business and to educate all students on the numerous career opportunities post graduation.   The three founders recruited a strong group of students both in and out of Haas to form the first board and the success of LBSA continues today 24 years later with over 80 student members and over 600 alumni.  The commitment to LBSA from its alumni continues today.  Gerson Guzman, the 1st of many passionate alumni, continue to support and give back to the student group.  After years of building a strong alumni support system, in 2007, LBSA alumni formed a non profit organization.  This initiative was led by Jorge Rodriguez, one of the original founders of the student group.

The alumni formed this non profit to continue to support the LBSA student group not only through mentorship and career guidance but also financially through scholarships.  As the years pass, LBSA continues to grow and evolve with the help of students and alumni.