UTSA leads first-ever HSI Career Collaborative Summit

APRIL 9, 2021 — UTSA may be one of the original 189 universities designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution, but with undergraduate full-time equivalent Hispanic students making up 58% of UTSA’s enrollment, the university has reimagined its strategic vision to move beyond “Hispanic serving” to “Hispanic thriving.” In alignment with this uplifted vision, the University Career Center—in partnership with 13 of the leading HSIs in the country—is launching a new summit to create career growth opportunities for students and alumni.

The Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Career Collaborative Summit will be held April 14-15 via Zoom. The two-day online event is a joint effort between the University Career Center at UTSA and some of the leading HSIs in the country, such as Florida International University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of California at Merced.

“This is the beginning of something very special.”

The summit will provide a virtual platform for students and alumni from participating institutions to engage with 100+ companies through professional development workshops and a career expo.

"The goal of this and future events is to raise the profile of HSIs to companies across the country. We see the future of recruiting as centered on diversity and collaboration. We are now building a career ecosystem across HSIs,” said Mario Vela, executive director of the University Career Center.

The virtual summit will kick off on April 14 with professional development sessions for employers and students. The first session for employers will be flagged off by a fireside chat with three stalwarts of their industries: Julián Castro, former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development and former mayor of San Antonio; Juan Sánchez Muñoz, chancellor of UC Merced; and Astro Teller, CEO of X (formerly Google X). This will be followed by two employer panel sessions titled "Building a Family Community and Inclusive Corporate Culture" and "Reducing Unconscious Bias in Your Recruitment Process."

The student and alumni professional development session will start with a keynote address by Leo Cortez, head of university recruiting and diversity talent at Airbnb, followed by an employer panel focused on defining the future of diversity in the workplace and strengthening a student’s brand. The final session will prepare students and alumni for a dynamic recruiting experience the following day. 

The career expo on April 15 will give participants the chance to network with several company representatives and learn about career opportunities at Airbnb, Amazon, Autodesk, AstraZeneca, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, Microsoft, PwC, Target, Toyota, Walmart, WarnerMedia and more. This summit is sponsored by AbbVie, Accenture Federal Services, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Services, H-E-B, Ford and X.

“This event offers employers insights into recruiting at HSIs and offers our students and alumni an opportunity to recruit with the leading companies across the country,” Vela said. “This is the beginning of something very special.”

The University Career Center supports all its stakeholders—students, alumni, employers, and parents—through a plethora of resources and events to help all ’Runners accomplish their career goals. The Career Center has continued to come up with unique ways to engage with students and alumni to promote their skills and provide opportunities that support their career development even as the pandemic has put pauses on events like in-person career fairs.

— Shruti Anand