Getting to hear from entrepreneurial celebrities like Zoë Saldaña, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, former baseball player Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, and singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi was just the icing on the cake for a group of enterprising Whittier College students. The group, along with business professor Dan Duran, worked over the summer and into fall to be part of the first annual L’Attitude conference held in San Diego, Calif.
L’Attitude, co-founded by global media communications and technology executive Sol Trujillo L.H.D. ’17, was designed to highlight the power of the Latino market in the U.S. and brought together some of the chief business leaders in the country. The A-listers were joined by former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña, NPR journalist Maria Hinojosa, MÍTU founder Beatriz Acevedo, and the CEOs of Uber, Wells Fargo, and United Airlines, to name only a few.
Sessions led by these big industry names motivated students, who enjoyed hearing how Latino entrepreneurs like Saldana and Rodriguez found and share their success.
They were also impressed to hear CEOs describe the enormous position Latinos share in the U.S. economy.
By 2020, Latinos will make up 74 percent of the growth in new workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2015 alone, Latinos in the U.S. were responsible for $2.13 trillion in gross domestic product—larger than the GDPs of Italy, Brazil, India, and Canada, according to a study by Latino Donors Collaborative, a nonpartisan association of Latino business, political and academic leaders. In other words, if U.S. Latinos were a country, they would be the seventh biggest economy in the world.
Business administration major Jesus Delgado ’19 was blown away after hearing that statistic. He returned to Whittier reinvigorated to pursue his goal of helping families start their own businesses.
Over the summer, Delgado and 19 other Whittier students gained early professional face time by working with Trujillo and the conference’s other co-founder—Gary Acosta, founder and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals—to put together and execute a marketing plan to reach out to other colleges and universities about L’Attitude. The plan involved research, direct contact, and a social media awareness campaign.
“It was a cool experience with several Skype planning and update meetings that often included our students with Sol Trujillo and others,” said Duran.
Students also volunteered during the conference which granted them both free admission and an opportunity to introduce themselves to many of the approximately 1,500 professionals in attendance. Students like Daisy Zavala ’19, who volunteered in a VIP area, had a chance to network with entrepreneurs and executives, and the interactions left her feeling empowered to make her way in the business world after she graduates.
“I thought, ‘wow, this is who I want to be, this is what I want to do and follow,’” said Zavala.
Michael Ash ’21 felt a similar combination of affirmation after meeting so many successful Latinos in business. “It helps to reaffirm that I could do the same thing,” Ash said.
“Just meeting these people was really cool. They’re just like me. They came from where I came from.”
For his part, Duran hopes L’Attitude becomes a recurring excursion for Whittier students.
“This convention was something really special,” said Christian Renteria ’21. “In the end, it really paid off. We got to meet with a ton of Fortune 500 companies, a ton of CEOs, real estate agents, bankers. I think there’s no greater value than experience. I think for me, that’s something that I can always carry with me. I’m just very grateful for it. I’m glad the school was able to give me the opportunity, as well.”