In a Philanthropic State of Mind: Tatiana Chamorro and Carlos Rivers Share Their Story, Their Life Philosophy and a New Scholarship

Carlos Rivers and Tatiana Chamorro live by an inspiring philosophy: “Philanthropy is a state of mind, not a stage of life.” With this mindset, the young Lion alums recently created the Rivers and Chamorro Scholarship for business majors who are from historically underrepresented student populations.

Laying the Groundwork for Career Success

The couple's journey at A&M-Commerce began in 2014 when they arrived from Nicaragua with their two-year-old son, Carlos, Jr. It was the family's first visit to Texas, but many of their friends from Nicaragua had attended and recommended A&M System schools. They had also heard great things about A&M-Commerce's family-friendly campus.

Over the next seven years, Tatiana and Carlos took advantage of many opportunities at A&M-Commerce to strategically lay the groundwork for their future careers. Carlos worked as a graduate assistant in the office of Student Access and Success, where he established mentorships with Drs. Mary Hendrix, Ricky Dobbs and others. His stellar graduate work earned him a full-time position as a research analyst for the Institute of Competency-Based Education at A&M-Commerce after graduating with an MBA in 2015. Five years later, he was promoted to executive director of the institute.

Tatiana completed her bachelor's degree in liberal studies at A&M-Commerce and then her Master of Science in Marketing. Throughout her time at the university, she focused on building her marketing, design and entrepreneurial skills. She pursued student worker positions and graduate assistantships to sharpen her graphic design skills. She also joined Venture College, the university’s program for budding entrepreneurs, where she learned to launch a business, pitch ideas and build a professional network.

During their time in Commerce, the couple also added a daughter to their family. Adriana was born in 2017.

Building Their Careers

Tatiana and Carlos chose to stay in Texas to build their lives and careers. The family currently lives and works in the Dallas area. Tatiana is the founder and owner of Hite Digital Dallas, an industry-leading brand design and marketing services agency. She also owns Hite Creative, a division of Hite Digital and the first digital marketing franchise in the U.S. Tatiana was named among the Top 20 Women in Advertising 2022 by the American Advertising Federation of Dallas.

Carlos is the founder and CEO of Rivers Partners, a real estate investment firm, and works for Amazon Business as a senior customer advisor. This year, he was awarded the Public Sector Peer Recognition Award for his impact at Amazon Business.

The couple credits A&M-Commerce for providing a solid foundation on which to build their career success.

“A&M-Commerce has a beautiful way of opening spaces of opportunity, and it was up to us to identify how to take advantage of them,” Tatiana said.

Living in a Philanthropic State of Mind

As young professionals, the couple is among a new generation of alumni donors who are simultaneously building their careers and their philanthropic legacy.

“There’s this misconception that you need to be a very wealthy person—at a specific time in life—to be a philanthropist,” Tatiana said. “But a philanthropic mindset means you can offer your time; you can offer your resources, your knowledge, you can offer so many different things at every stage of life.”

Through the Rivers and Chamorro Scholarship, the couple hopes to support students—especially unequally represented students—who major in business. The scholarship is open to both international and domestic undergraduate business majors.

“Throughout our lives, we have found mentors who have shown us how important it is to give back,” Carlos said. “They don’t just preach it, they take action on it,” Carlos said. “So, that's what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to give back to the next generation of Lions.”

Learn more about Division of Philanthropy and Engagement at A&M-Commerce.

Photo: Carlos Rivers and Tatiana Chamorro, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Dallas, Texas, by Tyler Holloway, A&M-Commerce