Finance
First-Generation Accounting and Finance Double Major Sets Sights on Future as Business Leader – Chico State Today
Not everyone has a life plan figured out by the time they’re in college.
Joana Camarena is a great exception. Now a senior in the business administration program, she found her calling in an early accounting class at Yuba College and hasn’t looked back since.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said, laughing. “My professor, Martin Gutierrez, was great. He encouraged the students a lot, and he is also a first-generation Mexican American, like me.”
From the beginning, Camarena approached her education with intention. She planned to pursue a business degree to gain the financial literacy her parents didn’t have. Today, her long-term goals reflect that same focus: becoming a chief financial officer while also owning her own business.
When she was exploring transfer options, a personal phone call from Chico State’s College of Business about the accounting program, student support, and internship opportunities made a lasting impression.
“I wanted to go to college to get a good job,” she explained. “Hearing how much Chico State supports students in getting internships really stood out to me.”
Since arriving on campus in 2024, she wasted no time getting involved—including adding a second major in finance to her academic plate. Within her first few weeks, she had joined the Accounting Society and began exploring other student organizations.
“All the students, staff, and faculty at the Accounting Society were super welcoming,” Camarena said. “I was also able to join Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honor society, and became the treasurer within a semester.”
In class, she has impressed faculty with her dedication and initiative. Associate professor Angela Casler, who taught Camarena in her “Survey of Management” class, said her drive to learn “everything and anything about business, how to begin her career in accounting, and create career goals to achieve,” was highly noteworthy.
“She immediately took the initiative to attend the Career Center’s career fairs and landed her first internship! She excitedly contacted me to let me know. I really felt honored that she took the time to let me know her exciting news. . . . She exemplifies the Chico Wildcat spirit, and I am proud to be a small part of her journey.”
Camarena says one of the reasons she has been successful in class is because of the smaller faculty-student ratio and class sizes.
“I learn better in a smaller group, where I can ask questions and won’t be worried about shouting over a hundred other people,” she said. “It feels welcoming, and it’s easy to make friends and connections.”
Beyond academics, Camarena has found a strong community on campus through El Centro.
“As soon as I walked in, I saw people who looked like me, and they’re super welcoming,” she said, noting the positive difference this made to her experience. “The directors are super welcoming and offer snacks, coffee, or just a place to hang out.”
Resources, like the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and the Association of Latino Professionals for America, also played a role in helping her navigate campus life and build essential connections.
For Camarena, these spaces are reminders that she belongs.
As she progressed through her program, she began developing one of the most important and challenging professional skills: networking.
Through Beta Alpha Psi, she attended recruiting events and dinners with industry professionals, learning how to introduce herself, ask questions, and build relationships.
It wasn’t always easy. Like many students, she initially worried about saying the wrong thing or not knowing how to start conversations. But with practice and support from her peers, she grew more confident.
In addition to a previous internship, Camarena secured a highly competitive opportunity with global accounting firm KPMG during the winter break and early spring 2026. Leaping at the opportunity, she relocated to Los Angeles for the experience and put her training to work in a fast-paced environment during audit season.
“It was definitely interesting being right in the middle of busy season, and I think I was kind of surprised, as well as how much work we were actually doing as interns,” she said. “I feel like Chico really prepared me for that. My professors in the College of Business always encourage us to ask questions, and I think that made a huge difference for me.”
In addition to successfully completing the internship and gaining invaluable experience, Camarena also received a job offer at KPMG, which she has accepted and will begin in 2027.
Now on the cusp of graduating with employment, the self-described coffee lover and former barista is continuing to enjoy exploring local coffee shops around Chico, looking for that elusive perfect lavender latte.
She also finds creative outlets in thrifting and making floral bouquets, small but meaningful ways to unwind and express herself.
Spending time with friends helps her stay grounded, but when she can, she heads home to Yuba City to be with family.
While Chico State has played a major role in her success, Camarena is quick to point out that her journey is also rooted in the support she receives outside of campus.
Her sister’s constant encouragement and her father’s unyielding support are driving forces behind her efforts.
“It’s the small things,” she said. “They mean everything.”
For Camarena, success is as much about chasing her dreams as it is honoring the people who helped her get there.
Finance
Martha Aguirre, former El Paso ISD interim superintendent, resigns as CFO as district finds ‘key financial challenges’
El Paso Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Martha Aguirre, who served as interim superintendent last year, resigned this week as the district said it had discovered “key financial challenges.”
The district issued a news release late Thursday afternoon that lacked details but indicated that a recent review had raised questions about the district’s fund balances, a key indicator of financial health.
“Through this process, key financial challenges were identified that must be addressed prior to closing out the 2025-26 school year including a current budget shortfall that is being actively addressed ahead of the district’s final financial presentation to the Board of Trustees in June,” the news release said.
A CFO is charged with developing a school district’s budget and overseeing its finance department. The EPISD Board of Trustees must adopt a budget for the 2026-27 school year by the end of the fiscal year June 30. The operating budget for the current school year is $547 million.
EPISD Deputy Superintendent David Bates will oversee the budget while the district searches for an interim and permanent CFO, district officials said in a statement.
EPISD Board President Leah Hanany said trustees were notified about Aguirre’s resignation this week. She said the district plans to give the public more information on the current year’s budget during a board meeting later this month.
“The board was also notified of a potential budget shortfall for the 2025 budget, but we don’t have final numbers yet. My understanding is that we are still primed to pass a balanced budget for fiscal year 2026-27 in June,” Hanany said in a statement.
Aguirre could not be reached for comment. EPISD’s CFO makes $148,200 to $209,900 a year, according to the district’s administrative pay plan.
She served as EPISD’s interim superintendent from June to December 2025 after the district’s former superintendent, Diana Sayavedra, resigned under pressure from the board. She returned to her position as CFO when Brian Lusk was hired as EPISD’s new permanent superintendent.
Aguirre’s resignation comes amid an uncertain budget season after a state funding calculation error tied to school property tax breaks caused EPISD to lose out on $17 million in projected revenue. In late April, EPISD officials estimated it would cause the district’s spending to exceed its revenue next year by $10 million.
The district is also considering calling for a bond election in November to upgrade its aging campuses as part of the larger 2024 Destination District Redesign initiative to close schools and improve the ones that remain open.
El Paso Teachers’ Association President Norma De La Rosa said Aguirre’s departure was unexpected.
“We’re right in the middle of the committee meetings for a possible bond and getting ready to get that budget to the June board meeting for next school year. So, to say that I’m highly surprised is an understatement,” De La Rosa told El Paso Matters.
Aguirre started working with the district in 1996 as a general clerk, according to a video published by the district.
When Colangelo College of Business students step into the Charles Schwab Foundation Finance Center this fall, they might feel like they’ve stepped onto a trading floor instead of into a Grand Canyon University classroom.
Renovations, which will begin this summer, come just two months after the announcement that students will be providing research for a stock exchange-traded fund as part of the college’s partnership with Christian financial firm Faith Investment Services.
Plans for the finance center’s remodeling are to incorporate a large ticker board in the center of the room, flanked by two smaller ticker boards that will scroll stock exchange listings.
“The Schwab Center not only has the look and feel of Wall Street, but the latest Bloomberg technology for our students to execute their research assignments,” CCOB Dean John Kaites said.
The frosting on the glass wall along the main corridor of the first floor of the CCOB will be lowered enough to allow tour groups to see inside the room while not distracting students during class.
The space, which will accommodate 34 students, serves as a finance learning center and lab for exams designed to help students get certified for the finance industry.
Business college leaders see the changes as a way to raise the profile of the CCOB and Schwab Center.
“As our students experience real-life research for the New York Stock exchange traded ETF: FTHB, they will have a learning environment that is compatible with their work,” Kaites said.
GCU earned national attention when the FIS Faith Income exchange-traded fund was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange (FTHB). This fund is believed to be the first ETF – a tradable fund containing a mix of investments organized around a strategy – that provides educational opportunities to students.
CCOB and College of Theology students research high-quality funds as part of that partnership. They are not paid for their work but receive valuable experience.
The CCOB lobby, used frequently for the T.W. Lewis Speaker series and club meetings, also will be remodeled. The northwest corner of the lobby, used often for studying and small gatherings, will be transformed into two offices. Space will remain so students can continue gathering and studying in that area.
The reception desk – where student workers often direct foot traffic at the busiest part of the four-story, 150,000-square-foot building – will be repositioned so it will face the college’s entrance.
The CCOB was revamped last summer to add the T.W. Lewis Center for Student Success, a multifaceted facility that features a broadcast studio with a stick ticker, a podcast room and a broadcast control room.
A Career Services Center also was added on the first floor.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
In Q1 2026, EfTEN United Property Fund earned 461 thousand euros in net profit (Q1 2025: 703 thousand euros). The decline in profit is primarily related to the Fund’s investment in EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS shares, whose price on the Tallinn Stock Exchange increased 2.9% in Q1 2026 compared with 4.5% in the same period of 2025. In addition, interest income from the investment in the development company Invego Uus-Järveküla OÜ decreased year-on-year, as the development company repaid the principal and interest of the shareholder loan to the Fund in full in mid-March.
Despite the decline in profit, EfTEN United Property Fund AS received record owner income from its underlying funds at the beginning of 2026. This forms the basis for the Fund’s first distribution of the year to investors in Q2 2026, in the amount of approximately one million euros. The distribution is based on dividends and income received from all underlying funds, as well as interest from the Invego Uus-Järveküla OÜ and the Menulio 7 office building shareholder loans. The distribution does not include the profit from the Invego Uus-Järveküla development project, which the Fund plans to distribute largely in the second half of the year.
Since EfTEN United Property Fund’s portfolio is diversified across nearly 50 different properties in the Baltic states, developments across all segments of the regional real estate market affect the Fund’s results. There have been no major changes in the Baltic commercial real estate market over the last few quarters. In the residential real estate market, however, sales of new developments have improved in all Baltic states. In Tallinn, monthly sales of new developments grew to approximately 160 units per month in Q1 2026, compared with an average of around 100 units in 2024 and the first half of 2025. The biggest jump in the Baltic states was made by the Vilnius new-development market, where — partly thanks to expectations of funds being released from the second pension pillar — Q1 2026 sales volumes reached all-time highs, at times reaching up to 700 units per month.
The pace of sales also remained strong at the start of the year in Invego Uus-Järveküla OÜ, the development company for the Uus-Järveküla residential district in which EfTEN United Property Fund holds an 80% stake. In the first quarter, 22 units were sold (real rights contracts signed) and reservation agreements were concluded for three terraced houses. As of the end of the quarter, 8 terraced houses in the development remain unreserved. In March, Invego Uus-Järveküla OÜ repaid its entire bank loan and returned the shareholder loan to the Fund in full (1.51 million euros) along with the accrued interest (56 thousand euros). EfTEN United Property Fund invested a total of 3.52 million euros in the Uus-Järveküla development project in 2021 and 2023, and has to date received 4.8 million euros back.
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