Latino students in the Marriott School of Business gathered to discuss challenges and benefits of being minorities at BYU.
The meeting was organized by the Marriott Inclusion in Business Society on Jan. 25 in the Tanner Building. Those in attendance described it as a safe space to talk about the variety of their experiences in the business school as Latinos.
BYU student Elías Bobadilla Valencia moderated the event, asking five pre-prepared questions to a panel of five Hispanic students in the business school. Those on the panel included Aileen Hernandez, Matias Gonzalez, Isaac Torres, María José Bernal and Michelle Esparza-Pulido.
Each student on the panel came from various heritages and backgrounds, offering a wide variety of perspectives for those in attendance. The topics discussed regarded inclusion, diversity and how to improve as students, faculty and friends at BYU.
As the students on the panel shared their experiences and perspectives, students listening in the audience nodded in agreement. A large percentage in attendance were also Latino BYU students.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a few students and faculty from the audience shared their stories and thoughts on inclusion and diversity at the university.
“Being genuinely interested in people goes a long way,” Latino student Trent Pomar said. “It’s important to recognize that everyone is very individual and every individual is beautiful.”
One of the organization’s advisors, Miguel Pomar, offered his advice connecting the discussion to how we can become more Christlike, especially at a religious university such as BYU.
“If you just look to the Savior as far as how He treated people, it wasn’t about race and it wasn’t about color and it wasn’t about gender, it was about being Christlike,” Pomar said.
