Students at New Mexico State University's Center of Supply Chain Entrepreneurship program in the College of Business have proven their hard work, dedication, and success after earning second place in a global supply chain competition that was held in early October.

Four NMSU supply chain program students – Valeria Gomez, Mia Martinez, Alex Thorson, and Jorge E. Ramirez – were selected to compete in the annual General Motors/Wayne State University Supply Chain Case Competition in Detroit, Michigan.

The event is an invitation-only competition and engages some of the best and brightest supply chain students from universities worldwide. It allows students to learn about the automotive industry's supply chain systems while teaming up to solve challenges.

"As a graduating senior, going away from NM State with such an achievement is very fulfilling and motivating to continue to strive for success and boldness," said Gomez. "I encourage our younger students to add this experience to their resumes and learn as much as I could from the best mentors our team could ever have had."

Victor Pimentel, assistant professor of supply chain/business analytics and director of the CSCE program, provided the tools for the team to succeed and was a mentor throughout the process. Support ranged from bringing food to the weekly meetings and providing personalized swag to tutoring, guest speakers, and correcting presentation styles.

"It is gratifying and a testament to the dedication, hard work, and team spirit. Several different students from other schools commented on how inspirational our team was," Pimentel said. "All of them took one or more classes with me. The selection process is competitive and intensive and sometimes seems unfair to the students who couldn't make the last four."

Pimentel said the students trained for six months before the competition and also worked with Peace Aludogbu, a Ph.D. student who helped them analyze the cases.

"It could be a simulation, forecasting, data analysis class, or presenting an entire case study so we can assess their presentation skills and work on their presentation," Pimentel said. "It is very intensive, and we expect a lot from them; they get a lot of homework over the summer. All our meetings are in person to work on team chemistry – we want them to know and like each other.

"This competition was a terrific opportunity to get experience analyzing and problem-solving with a real-world case," Martinez said. "I am proud of my team and grateful for the opportunity and mentorship afforded to me by Dr. Pimentel as well as Dr. Donovan Fuqua. I look forward to another year and another bold presentation with the supply chain team."

Although the competition was intense against 20 other teams across the globe, Pimentel shared that there was a lot of mutual support with one another before and after the competition.

"I'm so proud of every one of my teammates, and I'm thankful to have been given this opportunity to represent NMSU. But the job isn't over yet, and next time NMSU will be going for first," said Ramirez. "As someone who doesn't have a top GPA in school it feels amazing to show people that at the end of the day it's about what you know, adapting to new situations and making your strengths work for you. It feels surreal to think that this all started with me telling my professor 'I want to visit Detroit.'"

The team is incredibly grateful to Fuqua and Aludogbu, who trained with the team during the summer and cheered them on during the competition.

"Without Dr. Fuqua's intense preparation and care, this achievement wouldn't have been possible. That is why the team brought him the Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin jersey. In recognition of his commitment, care, and investment in the team," Pimentel shared.

"I sought this opportunity sort of impulsively, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to push myself out of my own shell and go somewhere I hadn't been before, with a team of people I didn't know prior," Thorson said. "I truly encourage anyone to take the leap with opportunities like this."

For more information about the supply chain program at NMSU, visit https://csce.nmsu.edu/.

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-supply-chain-students-win-second-place-in-global-competition/s/5cd94c16-7bc7-45b9-a3e1-a38f9ad3f7c0