Hunt Business Students Earn National RMA Scholarships

The Big Picture

Support for what comes after the classroom.

Owen Lan, Cassandra Vazquez and Samuel Sanchez Beltran have been awarded 2026 Risk Management Association Foundation Scholarships, earning national recognition as they prepare for careers across the financial industry.

The RMA Foundation awards more than $200,000 annually to students preparing for careers in banking and financial services. Recipients are selected for academic achievement, leadership and a demonstrated commitment to advancing sound risk management principles.

For the three Hunt Business recipients, the awards provide support as they move toward professional credentials, new careers and opportunities extending from El Paso to New York and across the U.S.–Mexico border.

The Hunt Connection

Industry access becomes student opportunity.

Through the Hunt College Banking Academy, students gain access to industry organizations including RMA, along with mentorship, professional networks and exposure to careers throughout banking and financial services. The scholarships are one example of how those connections can translate into tangible opportunities for students.

RMA Foundation Scholarship $1,500

2026 Recipient

Owen Lan

Finance Major, Financial Analyst Concentration · Minor in Computer Information Systems

Lan plans to pursue a career in asset management, with a long-term goal of working as an investment product manager developing and managing investment products used by financial advisors and wealth managers.

He plans to use the scholarship to help cover expenses associated with pursuing the CFA designation.

This scholarship would help cover my initial CFA Level I expenses, including registration fees and study materials. Pursuing the CFA will deepen my understanding of investment analysis, portfolio management and quantitative finance while helping me build credibility as I pursue a career in asset management. I appreciate UTEP's investment in opportunities that make professional goals like this more attainable.

RMA Foundation Scholarship $1,500

2026 Recipient

Cassandra Vazquez

Finance Major, Financial Analyst Concentration · Minor in Computer Information Systems

Vazquez is beginning her career in wealth management at Morgan Stanley, with the goal of eventually transitioning into portfolio management.

Growing up in El Paso shaped her interest in financial literacy and the role financial education can play in helping individuals and families build wealth. She hopes to bring that perspective into her career while expanding awareness of investment opportunities in communities like her own.

Receiving the Risk Management Association Scholarship is an incredible honor and an important step in my professional growth. As I begin my career and navigate this new chapter in New York City, this scholarship serves as both financial support and a reminder of the people and organizations that have encouraged me along the way. I'm extremely grateful to RMA and the UTEP Banking Academy for investing in my future.

RMA Foundation Scholarship $2,500

2026 Recipient

Samuel Sanchez Beltran

Finance Major, Financial Analyst Concentration · Minor in Computer Information Systems

Beltran hopes to build a career in banking focused on strengthening financial connections between the United States and Mexico, helping businesses and communities on both sides of the border grow through systems that manage risk and move capital reliably.

His own experience crossing the border to attend UTEP has shaped how he thinks about that work and the region he hopes to serve.

I'm one of many students who cross the border every morning just to get to class at UTEP, and that crossing has shaped how I see everything I'm working toward. This scholarship isn't only about my own path; it's recognition of what students from the Paso del Norte region carry with them every day to pursue an education. Thank you to UTEP and RMA for making opportunities like this possible for students like us.

Why It Matters

Three awards. Three different directions.

From professional credentials and wealth management to cross-border banking, the RMA scholarships support three students pursuing distinct paths within finance while showing how industry partnerships can extend the Hunt Business experience beyond the classroom.