Representation Matters: Embracing Hispanic Heritage Month At Stanford GSB

Mario Del Cueto, MBA ‘22, focusing on Organizational Behavior and Leadership Development, HBSA Co-President

Mario Del Cueto, MBA ‘22

Why an MBA? First and foremost, I wanted the time, space, and perspective to ask myself hard-hitting questions and pursue their answers:  Am I on the right career path? Am I practicing the values I hold most dear? Secondly, I was excited to further develop my leadership style via classwork and extracurricular involvements such as the HBSA. Lastly, the ability to meet similarly driven individuals across an innumerable array of industries and have fun while doing so sounded like the dream. Turns out, it is.

What other schools did you apply to? Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, and Sloan

Why Stanford? Stanford’s emphasis on interpersonal dynamics and intrapersonal discovery distinguished it as my clear first choice. Additionally, I wanted to try out a new geography and solve the NorCal – SoCal debate for myself (I’m originally from LA). Finally, I thought that with the ever-present atmosphere of entrepreneurship, a unicorn-worthy idea would come to mind. Still waiting on that one. 

What does being an Hispanic business student mean to you? Being a business school student in general denotes a lot of things: a focus on self-improvement/growth, a desire to be impactful in your profession, and a commitment to team-work and the power of relationships. On top of this, being a Hispanic business student holds deeper meaning.

Being a Hispanic business student, to me, means making the most of this opportunity with the understanding that I am blessed. So many things fell the right way for me to end up at this distinguished institution — the hard work of my parents, the benefits of my birthplace, the influence of my university, the list goes on. I’m here pursuing a voluntary post-graduate degree while college and the broader business world is not even in the consideration set for many of my hermanas and hermanos. 

So with this cognizance, being a Hispanic business student means a great onus of responsibility. It means we carry the weight of role models. We cannot quantify the impact of looking upward and seeing a Latinx leader may have on another member of the familia, but we can be sure it’s positive. I want Latinx individuals to see leaders that look like themselves at Stanford. Being a Hispanic business student means being my best self so the world can see a Hispanic succeeding.

What value does the HBSA provide for you and your classmates? For their members, affinity groups like the HBSA have three major value propositions. First, the HBSA creates a space to build tighter-knit, committed social communities. Next, the HBSA offers an opportunity for students of Latinx descent to further lean into their Hispanic roots, potentially in a way that was inaccessible to them in their upbringing. Lastly, there is the power of a broader platform to connect with an invested alumni base.

For the broader GSB community, the value is more nuanced. The HBSA and other similar groups serve as vehicles by which being proud of your identity is vocally celebrated, thus creating space for others to be proud of their identity. Separately, uplifting Hispanics from many different backgrounds (and importantly, many whom look very different from one another) signals to the broader Stanford community “Hey! There is no cookie-cutter Hispanic identity, so please don’t put members of our group into a predetermined mental box.”

Why is Hispanic Heritage Month important to you? Hispanic Heritage Month was not emphasized when my identity was being formed in childhood. Today, I’d like to overcorrect for this lack and scream about the value of this extended familia. 

Hispanic heritage month is a time in which we celebrate inclusivity. The term “Hispanic” encapsulates millions of different identities, with distinct cultures, traditions, values, and experiences. For me, as a mixed-race Hispanic, the fact that the Hispanic community deliberately celebrates this variety underscores the power of the Hispanic familia.

Hispanic Heritage Month is a reminder of how far “we” have come. “We” being myself, my family, mi raza, and the world. We have made great strides along the dimensions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. But it is also a reminder of how far we have left to go. Hispanics constitute ~17% of the US population, but comprise less than 10% of MBA students and only ~4% of Fortune 500 board seats.  This disparity becomes even more stark if one is to consider the sub-segment of American-born Hispanics.

My favorite part of Hispanic Heritage Month is the space it allows us to simultaneously honor our progress and hunger for more.

What are your future career goals? I aim to make an impact at the intersection of sports/games and youth development. As the son to two public school educators, I’ve long known the power that education can have on youth and am pursuing my dual-degree at Stanford in order to further that impact. While I know there is ample opportunity to do good within the four walls of the classroom, I am aspiring to make a difference in the high-leverage moments children have outside of class.

My ultimate dream is to own and operate an enterprise at this junction that teaches children tangible life skills through structured competition. From learning resiliency on the football field, to developing strategic thinking across the Catan board, to building confidence in parliamentary debate competitions, there is tremendous value in the arbitrary challenges we volunteer to tackle in gameplay.

I was lucky enough to have games all around in different after-school programs and youth sports while growing up. Simultaneously, I know the power of having an invested adult outside the familial unit as I think back to the influential teachers, counselors, and coaches in my life. It is my dream to broaden the adoption of and participation in benevolent youth development programs, most specifically from currently under-represented populations.

What don’t your classmates know about you? This is a super hard question given I’ve already delivered my TALK – a weekly open mic session where members of the GSB share their life story with the community. By this, my classmates know about my love of sports and games, they know my passion for youth development, they know how my extroversion defines me, they know about the impact of growing up as an only child, the list goes on. Importantly, they know about my experience as a mixed race Hispanic, especially one who doesn’t speak the language.

What my classmates may not know about me is that every day since 4th grade I’ve worn a plain rubber band on my wrist, paying homage to a youth basketball coach I idolized. He struggled with ADHD and used it as a snap pain response to remind him to stay focused. I started wearing a rubber band and doing the same, snapping it on my wrist when I missed a homework assignment, forgot to do my chores around the house, or missed an easy math question. I no longer snap the wristband, but I still wear it every day as a reminder to be a good person!

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