Hunt Business Career Plan Completes Inaugural Cohort
The Big Picture
Executives and community leaders joined the program to share career lessons, leadership insight and professional guidance.
Program Snapshot
The Woody L. Hunt College of Business completed the inaugural Hunt Business Career Plan this week, closing out a 12-week professional development program created in partnership with Hunt Business alumnus, local businessman and philanthropist Bob Wingo.
The six-session program brought together 25 juniors, seniors and graduate students for a structured approach to career development, mentorship and long-term professional strategy.
Created with Wingo’s support and vision, the program moved beyond informal mentorship into deliberate career preparation, giving students a measurable framework for long-term career development.
Why It Matters
The Hunt Business Career Plan moves career preparation beyond the short-term job search.
The true measure of the program’s success will be students who come back and pay the experience forward.
Bob Wingo, Chairman, Sanders\Wingo
Students explored how to turn interviews into conversations, identify key connectors inside organizations and build professional relationships with purpose.
The program emphasized a central idea: Relationships are not extra. They are part of the infrastructure of a successful career.
The program emphasized that professional success is not only about finding the next opportunity. It is also about understanding how relationships, communication, trust and long-term strategy shape a career over time.
Inside the Program
Students moved through a structured series of sessions focused on goal setting, interview preparation, executive engagement strategy and long-term career mapping.
The program also gave students direct access to leaders across health care, finance, entrepreneurship, public service, nonprofit work, economic development and higher education.
A multi-industry executive panel and networking session offered candid insight into leadership decisions, career pivots and the power of relationships.
Students had the opportunity to ask questions about the interview process, career setbacks and long-term career trajectory, while learning how to approach networking as a long-term investment rather than a one-time transaction.
What Changed in 12 Weeks
Leila Melendez named next Mentor in Residence. Melendez, CEO of Workforce Solutions Borderplex, will serve as Mentor in Residence for the Spring 2027 cohort.
The Hunt Business Career Plan was designed to make students measurably different by the end of the experience.
Participants learned how to define career goals, anticipate difficult interview questions, conduct executive-level research and execute meaningful follow-up.
The program pushed students from vague ambition toward documented strategy, including how to map a five-year trajectory and establish compelling goals.
What’s Next
Planning is underway for the Spring 2027 cohort.
Hunt Business plans to build on the inaugural Career Plan by expanding the program into a microcredential, giving students formal recognition for completing the professional and leadership development experience.
The goal is to carry forward the same structured approach while continuing to connect students with executives, entrepreneurs and community leaders who can help them understand how careers are built over time.
Hunt Business Career Plan Mentors
Scott AdkinsPresident and CEO, PyroCom Systems
Miriam Baca KotkowskiPresident, Tecma Transportation Services
Kathrin BergExecutive Vice President, El Paso Community Foundation
Bobby BlancoPartner and Director of Risk Management & Insurance Planning, Strategic Wealth Management
Elsa BorregoBusiness Consultant
Brendan GallagherVice President for Business Affairs, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Adam GamwellChief Security Officer, GamwellTech
Art GarzaCEO, Del Sol Medical Center
John HjalmquistPresident and CEO, Pizza Properties
Carlos KeatingAssistant Vice President, HUB International
Hazel KennedyExecutive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer, GECU
Leila MelendezCEO, Workforce Solutions Borderplex
Shawn OllisMarket President, Southern NM & West TX, Nusenda Credit Union
Laura PonceExecutive Director, Project Bravo
Margie SalazarCEO, FirstLight Federal Credit Union
Ricardo SamaniegoEl Paso County Judge
Peter SpierPresident, Avanta Residential
Jacob SterculaChief Operating Officer, Las Palmas Medical Center
Cary WestinBusiness Consultant and Former Interim City Manager
Brian MetzgerPresident of Business Development, Crown Wealth Strategies
Last Updated on May 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM | Originally published May 11, 2026
Posted by Hunt Creative
