SDSU Student Business Organization Spotlight: Hispanic Business Student Association

Kevin Orozco, President of the Hispanic Business Student Association.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, the Fowler College of Business is highlighting the Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA), a student organization that is making a difference both on campus and in the local community. After a virtual 2020-21 academic year, the HBSA is transitioning back to in-person meetings, recruiting members, and hosting social events. Kevin Orozco (Senior, Management), President of HBSA, describes what Hispanic Heritage Month means to him, why students should join their familia, and how the organization gives back to the community. 

About Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA) 

Q: Why should students join your organization? 

Students should join HBSA because it’s a great opportunity to make connections, learn about themselves, hold leadership roles, and make new friends that will eventually become your familia. HBSA is a great way to also grow professionally and personally. 

Q: What events, gatherings, and activities does your organization host? 

HBSA has meetings every Wednesday where we bring guest speakers to give advice on resume building, scholarship searching, finances, and the importance of LinkedIn. Also, we host social events such as bowling, skating, and gathering at the beach. Our social events are a great way for our members to get to know the executive board as well as us getting to know them since they are just like our family. 

Q: When does your organization meet? 

We meet every Wednesday from 4:30 - 6 pm in the Student Union on the second floor in the Tehuanco room. 

HBSA members at their 2021 in-person meetings. 

Q: How does your organization connect with the community outside of SDSU?

HBSA connects with the community outside of SDSU by doing events that help our local community. We have community service projects where we help women obtain women’s products, attend beach cleanups, and more. We believe that giving back to our community is a great way to build each other up and help us learn more about ourselves. 

Q: How can a student get involved with your organization? 

Students can get involved with our organization by coming to our meetings every Wednesday and interacting with our guest speakers and general members. We like to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable by providing a place where they can call home. Also, students can get involved by coming to our social events, community service events, and networking opportunities that we provide throughout the year. 

Q: What are your organization’s social media handles? 

You can follow us on Instagram at @sdsu_hbsa and on our GroupMe. This is where we send all important information and give updates on future events, meetings, and awesome SDSU opportunities.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add about your organization. 

We have a saying in HBSA that is “we like to see our organization like a tree and our members as the roots of that tree.” We see ourselves that way because every member in HBSA has a different background, culture, ethnicity, and major, and at the end of the day, we all come together to form the same tree. Everyone is welcome to join HBSA and you don’t have to be a business major or Hispanic. Our goal is to help our members grow professionally and personally. 

Q & A with Hispanic Business Student Association President, Kevin Orozco

2021 HBSA Executive Board. 

Name: Kevin Orozco

Major: Management

Q: What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you? 

Hispanic Heritage Month means a representation to all our Latino community who've been fighting all their life and breaking down doors so the future generations can get the same opportunities as everyone else. Also, it is a time to celebrate where we come from, who we are, and embrace our roots and not feel ashamed to be a Hispanic. 

Q: As a student leader involved with an organization at SDSU, can you share why you got involved and what your experience has been like so far?

The reason I got involved in HBSA was to find more people who looked just like me and have some sort of representation at school. Also, I wanted to put myself out there and start getting to know more people, whether they looked like me or not or have the same or different background. I just wanted to meet people who shared the same goals and values as I did. I was able to find amazing people in HBSA who I consider my familia. HBSA has allowed me to open new doors with the amazing opportunities it brings to members and gave me the opportunity and experience in taking a leadership role as their new president. 

Q: What experience with your organization has been the most impactful so far? 

I feel like the experience that has been the most impactful so far within HBSA would have to say being president of HBSA because after coming back to campus from COVID-19, we had to start from t by recruiting new members and filling up board positions within HBSA. It has been the most impactful experience because now that I’m able to talk to general members that we recruited at the beginning of the year, they have told me that HBSA provided them a sense of belonging at SDSU and a place where they feel comfortable and they’re able to be themselves. 

HBSA at one of their beach socials.

Q: Why is getting involved on campus important to you? 

Getting involved on campus is very important to me because I have noticed that it helps you grow tremendously both professionally and personally. Also, it allows you to expand your network and helps you obtain new and awesome opportunities whether it’s by getting an internship or a full-time job for a company. Most importantly, it helps you find a group of friends who would eventually be around for the rest of your life.

Q: What is the best advice you have received during your time at SDSU?
The best advice I have received during my time at SDSU was that you shouldn’t be waiting for a time to happen, and instead you should make it happen. That advice has made me realize that we shouldn’t be waiting for opportunities to present to us or come our way; instead, we should make those opportunities our priority and make it happen because they’ll learn what you’re really capable of. 

Q: What career aspirations do you have following your time at SDSU? 

After graduating from SDSU, I hope I get to work full-time with a company that will help me learn the business world better and show me my strengths and weaknesses.