About LASO

The Latino Student Organization (LASO) proudly promotes and supports Harvard Business School’s Latino students and works alongside the Latino Alumni Association (HBSLAA). Representing a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, interests, and Latino heritage, LASO members spearhead initiatives related to MBA admissions, alumni, career development and more to advocate for and empower the Latino community on campus and beyond. The LASO Board is led by the club’s three Co-Presidents – Amy Hernandez Turcios, Daniel Ocampo and Nancy Torres – who are all excited to continue LASO’s legacy this upcoming year.

Priorities for 2019-2020

Next year will mark LASO’s 20-year anniversary. We are excited to commemorate the club’s rich and ever-growing history and feel privileged to contribute to this year-long celebration. To bring this to life, our priority this year will be to strengthen LASO’s presence both on and off campus.

We hope to achieve this goal by using three approaches. First, we will leverage the power of the Adelante Conference, our annual Latino professional conference that brings together current and future Latino leaders. This will be hosted on-campus on October 5th (mark your calendars!). Second, we will continue to work with HBS MBA Admissions to encourage more Latino prospective students to apply. Third, we will strengthen our internal and external community-building efforts. We will continue traditions such as “Taco Tuesday” at Felipe’s, enhance our ties to the alumni network, and build out ties across the broader Harvard Latino Community.

Meet the LASO Leadership

The three of us represent Guatemala and Colombia; hail from California, New Jersey, and Maryland; and worked in the financial services, consumer, and tech industries before business school. We all bring excitement, passion y sabor to LASO’s leadership.

Amy Hernandez Turcios

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“I first heard about LASO through the HBSLAA network. My mentor, an HBS alumnus, was actively involved in the network as an alumnus and in LASO as a student. Hearing about the sense of community among Latino students and alumni was really one of two key reasons why HBS quickly became my dream school. From the moment I was admitted, I knew that I wanted to be an active member in LASO. During my first year, I was LASO’s VP of Community Engagement and through the experience I have seen the impact that having a strong sense of community has. I wanted to become Co-President to continue building that sense of community and to inspire Latino leadership representation.”

Daniel Ocampo

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“I was first introduced to the LASO community when I attended the 2017 Adelante Conference as a prospective student. Unsure of whether business school was right for me, I was inspired by Luis Ubiñas (HBS alumni keynote), who challenged all attendees to ‘become the Latino leaders of our generation that were not prevalent within our communities when we were growing up’. As the first member of my family to pursue an MBA, I’ve taken this challenge to heart. Since returning to school, my most meaningful involvement on campus has come through LASO. This past fall I helped organize the most recent edition of the Adelante Conference and it was truly inspiring to hear from Latino business leaders; more importantly, it was incredibly motivating to hear from prospective students who are hungry to lead our communities tomorrow. LASO inspired me when I was a prospective student, and as Co-President it is my privilege to ‘pay it forward’ to the future generation of Latino leaders.”

Nancy Torres

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“I joined LASO because I am deeply passionate about advancing the Latino community. Before business school, I was working as a Latina in tech, an industry where Latinos only make up 3% of employees. As a result, I started several community outreach and business development efforts to increase diverse representation in the industry. In the same vein, I decided to pursue a joint MBA and MPP at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School to learn more about how technology can be used for greater social impact. Now that I am back in school, LASO and HBS provide me with the platform to continue doing work that advocates for and elevates underserved and underrepresented communities. As Co-President of LASO, I’m looking forward to growing our thriving Latino familia on campus – developing sustainable models for the HBS community to give back and develop more Latino leaders across all sectors.”

Lastly, to all aspiring and prospective applicants, ADELANTE!