UIC Scholarship Named in Honor of Olga Camargo
The Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE) recently celebrated its National Leadership Summit and Gala in Chicago and announced it would fund a special UIC scholarship in honor of its Board Chair Emeritus Olga Camargo.
With over 20 years of experience in the financial service industry, Camargo, the founder and CEO of FARO Associates LLC, provides investment and retirement planning counseling to high-net-worth individuals, business owners, public and private corporations, public sector entities and not-for-profit entities and foundations. Camargo is also the founder and CEO of SHENIX, a web-based fintech app.
Patricia Mota, the CEO at HACE, announced the scholarship during the organization’s dinner gala to a national audience.
“We wanted to honor Olga’s vision and service to the community,” said Mota. “Her story is the epitome of the HACE career pathways we serve, someone who has been with HACE since she was a student to most recently serving as national board chair. As a UIC graduate, establishing a scholarship in her name is a fitting tribute to someone who has dedicated her career to helping Latinos move forward.”
In 2006, Camargo authored a graduate thesis focusing on the imperative need for financial institutions to provide culturally relevant financial services to better engage with today’s culturally diverse society. Her mission is to help close the U.S. wealth gap for Latinas and women of color.
Camargo earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Arts in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric degrees from the University of Illinois Chicago. The UIC College of Business later inducted Camargo into its Alumni Leadership Academy for her work in raising the standing and stature of the college.
“There are no words that can describe the monumental honor and mix of emotions that I feel with HACE and UIC establishing the Olga Camargo Scholarship,” said Camargo. “It’s a living legacy that I get to see influence the lives of our future Latino leaders as they set out to make our world better for everyone.”
Last year, HACE raised $100,000 to provide scholarships for students across the United States.
The Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES), a premier academic advising, financial aid and educational assistance unit servicing Latino students at the high school and college levels, will administer the scholarship. LARES assists Latino students interested in pursuing higher education with guidance and support.
“LARES is proud to join HACE in helping to create this special scholarship honoring Olga Camargo,” said Luis Duarte, LARES executive director. “We are working on the details now and look forward to the first round of scholarship recipients in the fall of 2024.”
