Business Major Wins City National Bank Scholarship

Gerardo Reyes is a business administration major with concentrations in Finance and Global Business, minoring in Economics. His expected graduation day is May 2019. In high school, Reyes was the treasurer and then the President of the Spanish Club.

"I also played offensive line in football, mostly center. For track, I threw the discus and shot put," said Reyes. In high school, Reyes woke up at 6:30 am for school and didn't get out of practice until 6:00 pm. "I didn't really have much time to do my homework," he said, which gave him the strong work ethic he has today for his workload at Saint Mary's. "Being so busy in high school just taught me a lot about how to manage my time," said Reyes.

Reyes is currently the President of the Latinx Business Center Association on campus. "That's something I really love and I really enjoy and something I care about," he said. When he has free time, he reads the Wall Street Journal and The Economist and listens to Drake, Miguel, and The Weekend with his friends.

"One of the things I really want to do in my career is to go into Venture Capital. So helping out startups, get them going and taking them public and stuff like that. I'm really interested in technology and science. I read a lot about that. I read about what's going on in the industry every day," said Reyes.

Growing up in Buena Park, California, Reyes had never heard of Saint Mary's College. He had chosen a four-year school that didn't fit. There was no business major; he was majoring in Economics.

While doing research about other schools he could attend, Reyes learned that one of his cousins was getting his MBA here and another cousin's father-in-law had as well.

“My friends make fun of me for how much I love it. The fact that I went to another school that I didn't like and then I found the perfect school for me—to go from somewhere where you were miserable to a school that I completely fell in love with—I appreciate it so much," said Reyes. "Everyone is a lot nicer here."

Currently, he lives in an intentional living and learning community in Santiago Hall on campus. As the only business major in the community, he has the opportunity to live with Liberal Arts and STEM students. The scholarship has given him the opportunity to stay on campus for one more quarter, instead of rushing to graduate in January, so he can get the most of his last stretch of college.

His advice to fellow students is to apply to as many scholarships as possible. "It's maybe an hour of your time," said Reyes.

"And for someone coming to Saint Mary's College, as a senior, I would tell you not to waste your time and to really do what you want to do here right away. If you want to be involved in a club or an organization or sport or something, get involved and really throw your heart into it. Because it does go by really quickly," said Reyes.

Reyes wishes to thank the donors for the opportunity the money has given him. "The money has made me feel a lot better about staying and getting the most out of the opportunities at the College," said Reyes.