Luis Araque was born in Toronto and grew-up in Colombia. He completed his studies in General Mechanics at a technical College (SENA); attended Universidad de Antioquia, one of the oldest universities in Colombia, and took a program in English, Spanish and French translation. Luis returned to Toronto to continue his studies in 1999 and enrolled in the English program at York University.  However, due to lack of effective educational guidance and other circumstances, Luis postponed his studies to work full-time.

After seven years in the marketplace, he decided to return to school and graduated with honours in Business Administration from one of the biggest Career Colleges in North America. This experience opened new doors of opportunity and today, Luis works with new immigrants in Toronto, particularly in the Hispanic community. He provides them with educational tools and guidance so that they can improve their lifestyle and successfully navigate the Canadian marketplace.

Luis has worked as an Education Advisor in different career colleges and is the founder and Director of Progreso Hispano, an educational consulting centre that provides Spanish-speaking individuals in the GTA with guidance about the occupations that are in demand in Ontario; career choices based on their backgrounds and interests, available financial options to support their studies and coaching them with fundamental steps to effectively enter the labour force.

Luis has written articles and gives presentations that encourage immigrants to achieve their goals in Canada.  He is an active member of the Hispanic community, and is consistently establishing strategic alliances with business professionals and community centres.  This enables him to provide resources to people in need of specific services.

One of Luis passions is to help others grow and this is his mandate as one of the Directors of the Committee of Education & Development of the THCC.