♪ Hey, hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey, hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey, hey (upbeat music) - Good evening, and welcome to "Horizonte," a show that takes a look at current issues through a Hispanic lens.

I'm your host, Catherine Anaya.

The ASU Hispanic Business Students Association was formed at a time when Hispanics were just starting to receive opportunities that they had been denied before.

According to the association's website, it was organized in 1974 as the Chicano Business Students Association.

The organization was renamed in 1979 and became the Hispanic Business Students Association.

The website also says, quote, "The goals of the association are to provide Hispanic students with educational opportunities, career options in business, and association with students who have different goals but mutual interests."

Tonight, I will talk to one of the people instrumental in leading the association, but first we hear from Michael Trejo, a seventh-generation Arizonan, who was active in the organization from about 2006 to 2009, went on to a successful career in business, and is now part owner of a Phoenix printing company.

- I really needed to find a home on campus, and that very quickly became the Hispanic Business Association.

I really...

The culture of the organization just took me almost immediately, and I found where I was meant to be on campus.

So the organization is run like a business.

Dr. O made sure of that.

But it also had a very distinct element of community service to it.

ASU is a big place, and everybody is sort of looking for where they belong in that big place.

And I would say that there's...

It's not like Hispanics have... We're human beings too, right?

We don't have wildly different needs than any other student.

But when you look up and you say, "Well, who's doing the thing I want to do?"

I started ASU and I wanted to work on Wall Street, I wanted to work in finance.

Didn't have a whole lot of role models that were doing those sorts of things.

And the fact that we had somebody like Dr. O who was connected to HBSA, I mean, he was really the one who opened me to the concept of that world.

I absolutely had a role model to that organization.

I would say that I'm blessed that many of the alumni who were advisors or just circulate around their organization are still friends and people who I look up to today.

We always felt that way about Dr. O.

He had a really unique sense or really unique combination of warmth and strength.

We supported each other, which meant that if somebody was going through tough times, we were there, to be there for one another.

He wrote my recommendation letters that helped me get into my internships on Wall Street.

He wrote my recommendation letter for Harvard Business School.

He wrote my recommendation letter for Harvard Kennedy School.

He was my thesis advisor.

As I came back to Phoenix, I've called on him multiple times to chat or to think about stuff I wanna do in the community.

And that kind of lifelong support is really unique to finding a person.

And he's been that not only for me, but for a lot of students over time.

- Joining me now to talk about the ASU Hispanic Business Students Association is Dr. Loui Olivas, Professor Emeritus at ASU and lead advisor of the organization for more than 40 years.

Dr. O, as we affectionately call him, welcome to the show.

- So pleased to be here.

- It's so good to see you as always.

- Thank you, Catherine.

- So, you've actually been leading this organization as an advisor for 45 years.

That is phenomenal.

- That is correct.

Started in 1979 when I arrived at a Arizona State University as an assistant professor, a tenure-track.

And it has been a fast 45 years.

Thrilling experiences and opportunities to work with some brilliant minds that are making differences around the world.

- Well, you have certainly made a difference in so many lives, and I wanna talk about that.

But first, tell me a little bit about the history behind the organization and what was happening, the climate on campus for Latino students when the group was formed, and then how you came to come on board 45 years ago.

- Well, the presence of Latinos, especially in the College of Business, was Neil.

I don't ever recall in the first five, six years that I ever had a Latina or Latino in any of my business classes.

And so it started to evolve.

And when I arrived in 1979, there was...

The founding professor and advisor was Nelda Garcia, a business communication professor, and she introduced me to HBSA in 1979.

And she said, "This is now the co-advisor," and here we go.

And so things have evolved, things have changed, and that means there have been changes, significant changes, for the presidents of Latinos at Arizona State University in the College of Business.

So 60% of all students across America as undergraduates are female.

That's also true of ASU and that's also true for the W. P. Carey School of Business.

So you're seeing more and more Hispanic students navigating to business, which was rare back in the 1970s when I came in.

- Mm-hmm, and you look at the organization now, it's celebrating 50 years this year, which is incredible.

What does the success of an organization like that mean for the success of students?

Why is it so critical?

And is there anything like it anywhere else in the country?

- Unfortunately, there's not, it's not been replicated.

HBSA welcomes all majors, welcomes non-Latinos as well.

We actually had Sophie (indistinct) in the mid-1990s.

French, French born in France and a major, and she was the president of HBSA.

And so it's about building character, building confidence, and this is their playground, as I like to tell them.

What is it like to lead?

What is it like to organize events, budget, and be a team player to make things happen?

- You've been instrumental in bringing mentors on campus, talking to the students.

I've been fortunate enough to be one of those speakers, but mentorship is really critical and the foundation of this organization, right?

I mean, one of the things that impressed me the most about these students was just how thirsty they were for knowledge, how prepared they were.

They were very curious, inquisitive.

The mentorship is a valuable component to their success, right?

- No question, and there's a two-way street.

First, we're academic advisors, and you should know, my other co-advisors are Edmundo Hidalgo, one of the leaders in our community; Lydia Aranda, her dad was one of the advisors for HBSA; and Mike Garcia, they are co-advisors.

But to have them reach out to not only to them, we can point to other leaders in the community that will mentor them.

And by the time they get to be a senior in HBSA, they become mentors of the incoming freshmen and sophomores, and that's what's critical.

It's about joining a familia called HBSA.

It's a cultural perspective.

At the same time, it's giving.

Giving to others, if you may.

- Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because whenever I come across a student or a former student, they always talk about that family connection that they feel, which is why you have so many alumni who stay in contact with the organization, whether it be as a mentor or just coming and hanging out, right?

- Yes.

Nothing more fulfilling in my corazon, in my heart, when I get to see the alum come back.

I see them at a venue, see them when I'm traveling across the country, and knowing that they're on a great journey, knowing what they're doing, the fact that they're difference makers in their communities and they're making a difference in the companies that they either work for, or if they own, or become presidents of nonprofits.

- Well, HBSA really prepared a lot of the Latino leaders that we're seeing not just in our community, but across the country, right?

- Absolutely.

Difference makers, as I like to call them.

They know how to plan, they know how to organize, how to budget, how to write grants.

But more important, they know how to connect people to a good cause.

And that's what they're doing, and it's working for them.

- So, I wanna talk about you for a moment because you recently made history.

Last fall, ASU honored you by creating a chair at the W.P.

Carey School of Business, the Loui Olivas Chair in Management.

The first endowed chair named after a Latina or Latina scholar at a top-ranked US business school.

That is amazing.

What does an honor like that mean to you personally?

- That's the Olympic Gold Medal.

That's the Super Bowl.

That's the World Football Award.

When you're a professor at a university, every college will have an endowed chair.

And you look to those endowed chairs, those are the leaders, the scholars, the professors that are well-known for what they're doing.

And so when you get to sit in one of those chairs, it's significant.

And you look at them saying, "Wow, maybe someday."

Less than 5% of any professor will ever sit in a chair, but not to have a chair named after someone.

In my case, I'm truly humbled that they would view what this means not only to future professors and students as we work with them, but also the significance.

But what does that really mean for our community as they aspire to move throughout their careers?

So truly humbled, truly honored.

And as I like to tell folks, Catherine, their reality really hadn't set in yet, but it will someday.

- Oh, it's just so well-deserved and long overdue.

When we talk about professional accolades like that, obviously very humbling, but what about the personal accolades?

So I know that a lot of people were lauding you during this honor.

When you have a student come up to you, whether it be present or past student, and say, "You changed my life."

"You taking the time to invest in me made a difference."

What does that mean to you in your heart?

- Oh, gee.

It's a swelling of the heart.

It's the appreciation, the gratitude that they recognize and give back to the efforts, to the work, to the sacrifices that go on.

Because there were times when the times that I gave were the evenings when I'm away from my wife for 54 years now, or when I was away from my sons.

They're extremely successful in their own career.

So, very gratifying and fulfilling.

It's nothing that you see in your pocketbook, (Catherine laughing) that's for sure.

But an incredible feeling, it really is.

- Well, I'm sorry that I'm this far away from you because I do wanna give you a hug because you have always been such a supporter of mine.

I've been to your house for Pachangas.

- Yes.

- And I just...

I just love you dearly, and you've made a difference in my life, and I wasn't even a student.

(Catherine laughing) - You're a difference maker in our community and for what you do not only in this program, but everywhere else where we see you, it's extremely gratifying and an incredible feeling to see you succeed, continuing to succeed.

- Well, thank you, my friend, and congratulations on 45 years with HBSA, congratulations to the organization for 50 years, and congratulations on the chair in your name.

It is just a remarkable career you've had, and you're still going strong.

- Still going strong.

Retirement is a redefined 10-letter word, - Yes.

- But, I get to pick and choose what I do when I do.

- Well, I'm glad that you chose to be with "Horizonte" today.

- Truly my pleasure.

- So thank you.

It's good to see you.

(Dr. O speaking Spanish) (lips smacking) We're gonna hug after this.

That's our show for tonight.

For "Horizonte" in Arizona PBS, I'm Catherine Anaya.

Have a great night.

♪ Hey, hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey, hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey, hey (upbeat music)