NMSU College of Business student Alan Aguilar shares success ahead of graduation

Getting closer to the finish line, Alan Aguilar looks forward to earning his bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University’s College of Business in May, but has already been applying and utilizing what he’s learned outside of the classroom.  
 
“I didn’t really know what to expect, because supply chain management has been somewhat of a new major in the last 20 years,” Aguilar said. “Before, most individuals, such as the professional executives, that worked in the maquiladora or manufacturing industry were industrial engineers. The program has been great.”  
 
Aguilar is a senior who’s on track to receive his bachelor’s degree in supply chain management this spring semester. He shared that his experience at NMSU’s College of Business has been useful and beneficial, especially through lessons learned from his professors.  
 
“I talked to one of my professors who I see as my mentor, Dr. Pimentel – he’s my favorite professor here at NMSU and has taught me things that I can apply, especially in the professional workforce,” he said. “The class that I took with him in operations, it was probably the most important class I had to take in general at NMSU and the one that’s taught me the most.”  
 
Visual and hands-on learning experiences are key to many students’ success, and Aguilar emphasized that’s exactly what he received through Pimentel’s mentorship.  
 
“What I really enjoy about a lot of these classes, especially with Dr. Pimentel, is that it’s not a course that you’re going to go in and talk about a PowerPoint,” he said. “He really went into the nitty gritty, and with everything that we were making in the class, he was pointing out how you can use it in the workforce.”  
 
Some of these lessons transferred to successful results in a summer 2023 internship with Amazon, Aguilar said.  
 
“I used a lot of that information, and it was the cause of me being able to succeed in that position I was in with Amazon,” he said. “I did do the largest scale project for an intern ever in the United States. It was three projects in one and it was a multi-step project that would see the development of Amazon and its specific warehouses and departments. It was a current plan, 5-year plan, and 10-year plan.”  
 
Aguilar said being able to work with teams is one of the most profitable skillsets that’s necessary to thrive in the supply chain management workforce.  
 
“I think something that’s definitely going to help in the future is professional communication, understanding how to work with teams, and understanding everything in your industry, not just very specific things,” he said.  
 
Not only has Aguilar completed a successful internship with Amazon, he’s also one of the highest ranked players in the history of NM State Esports and has had several colleges already recruiting him to pursue his master’s degree. He shared that continuing his career in esports is a long-term goal.  
 
“After finishing my MBA, I’m interested in either being a director at a university or a program for esports, or working in the professional field for esports,” he said.