The University again has a significant number of alumni being honored for their professional contributions to the region.
By Cynthia Hubert
They are Made At Sac State, and they are making a difference in their communities, even during a year that has been upended by a global pandemic.
This year, 12 young professionals who are Sacramento State graduates have been named to the Sacramento Business Journal’s annual “40 Under 40” list, an elite group recognized for their contributions to the region and beyond. Winners were selected by former “40 Under 40” honorees based on their professional achievements, vision, and leadership qualities, among other considerations.
Sac State’s College of Business Administration is a major sponsor of “40 Under 40,” and Dean William Cordeiro was among the speakers when the University’s alums and their fellow award recipients were honored in a virtual ceremony.
The following Hornet alums have been named to the “40 Under 40” list for 2020:
Aaron J. Davis ’14 (Biological Sciences), CEO, Concrete Landscape Services
Roshaun L. Davis ’08 (Journalism), CEO, Unseen Heroes
Keith R. Glen ’06 (Accountancy), Shareholder, Gilbert CPAs
Mariana Corona Sabeniano ’06 (Government), Chief of Staff, California State Assembly
Kristy Prince ’06 (Communication Studies/Public Relations), Senior Program Manager, Amazon, Inc.
Kamaldeep (K-deep) S. Dhaliwal ’04 (Accountancy), Partner, Moss Adams LLP
Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo MA ’13 (Spanish), Councilmember, City of Woodland
Chantel M. Elder ’09 (Marketing), Owner/Photographer, Eleakis & Elder Photography
Grant R. Guerrieri ’10 (Civil Engineering), Senior Project Manager, Clark Pacific
Nkiruka C. Ohaegbu Executive MBA ’14, Business Loan Specialist, U.S. Small Business Administration
Kevin D. McAllister ’05 (Liberal Studies), Executive Director, Meals on Wheels by ACC
John W. Whitfield ’05 (Finance), Senior Business Development Executive, Moss Adams LLP
A current MBA for Executives student, Lydia Ramirez, also was selected. Ramirez is senior vice president and director of operations for Five Star Bank.
Sac State’s representation on the list attests to the University’s positive impact on the region, Cordeiro said.
“We are very proud to be an ongoing Gold Level sponsor of the Sacramento Business Journal’s ‘40 Under 40’ awards,” Cordeiro said. “The number of honorees from Sacramento State and from the College of Business Administration demonstrates the critical role that quality education plays in developing the outstanding young professionals working across industries in our community.”
Paul Lau ’84 (Electrical Engineering) was at Sacramento State preparing for dental school, but he also knew how to code. That knowledge landed him an internship in 1982 with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which provides electricity to the region.
That internship changed the course of his career.
Having already decided against dentistry, Lau was inspired to switch his major to Electrical Engineering.
Now, 38 years after walking through SMUD’s door as an intern, he has been named its chief executive officer. He officially took the reins of the community-owned utility on Oct. 3.
“When I worked for SMUD (in college), at the time I didn’t think I was going to be here 30 years,” he said. “I thought, ‘Oh, you know, it’s a good summer job … a good job to help me pay the bills.’ ”
Lau calls himself an example of the “American success story.” Born in Hong Kong, he moved with his mother and stepfather to Nigeria when he was 9, then to Sacramento at age 12. One of his sisters already lived here, and his parents believed they all would have a better life in the United States.
Barely speaking English, he attended Valley Vista Junior High and Norte Del Rio High School. His sisters were nurses, so when it came time for college, he similarly targeted the medical fields and settled on dentistry.
Lau initially planned to attend UC Riverside after graduating from high school in 1979. But his sister was at Sacramento State and encouraged him to stay local. Upon touring the campus, he was struck by the diversity of its student body.
“There was a very big international presence of students from Hong Kong,” he said. “So when I walked on campus, I really felt, for lack of a better term, ‘Oh, this is a place I want to be at.’ ”
He became heavily involved in campus life, playing on the ping pong and table tennis team, working the games room, and serving as vice president for the Chinese Student Association.
Through his first two years, his eyes remained set on dentistry. Then he volunteered in a dental clinic at UC Davis Medical Center and realized he hated it. A classmate from a Physics course connected him to the SMUD internship, which led him to switch his major.
The Electrical Engineering courses, Lau said, were practical and designed to prepare students to hit the ground running once their careers began.
“The classes are very hands-on, the homework projects were pretty much like what you would do coming out in the industry and working in an electric utility or any one of those research companies,” he said.
Remarkably, Lau is not the only Electrical Engineering alum to be promoted recently to the head of a major utility company. In June, Caroline Winn ’85 was named CEO of San Diego Gas & Electric.
Their success is no surprise to Mahyar Zarghami, Electrical and Electronic Engineering chair, who oversees the top-ranked program.
“Sac State is proud to have established a strong program in the area of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,” he said. “Our EEE program is known for its reputable scholarship in fields such as power and energy systems and engineering. Paul and Caroline are wonderful examples of our distinguished alumni.”
Over the course of nearly four decades, Lau has served in several capacities at SMUD, including assistant general manager of Customer, Distribution and Technology; assistant general manager of Power Supply and Grid Operations; and most recently as chief grid strategy and operations officer.
As CEO, he will lead the nation’s sixth-largest community-owned electric utility, which provides power for Sacramento County and parts of Placer and Yolo counties.
“SMUD has always given me the opportunity and encouraged me to leave my comfort zone, to try different jobs,” Lau said. “It sounds like a very long time, 38 years. It didn’t feel long because I was always able to change jobs, learn new challenges and then get promoted into different areas.”
Lau said he relishes having a job where his work has an impact on the future of the community and where the company values – he points to its community focus and emphasis on renewable energy – are ones he shares.
They are values he can trace to his time as a Hornet.
“Working hard, giving back to the community, always serving the community, and always thinking about, long term, how can you actually help our community grow and make sure the community stays vibrant?” he said. “That’s, to me, what I learned from Sac State.”
At just 16 years old, Felipe Valdez ’16 (Mechanical Engineering) faced a life-changing decision.
He and his family were living in poverty in Mexico. His mom worked 10-hour days at a local factory. His older sister had dropped out of school, and his parents couldn’t afford for him to continue his own education. And, perhaps most seriously, his father struggled with alcohol and drug addiction.
Should he stay in Mexico with his family and get a job, he asked himself, or move back to the United States, where he was born, and live with extended family so he could continue going to school?
“Many kids want to be like their parents when they grow up. My case was the opposite,” Valdez said. “I didn’t want to be like my dad, so I would always ask myself, ‘what are my options?’ And my only option was to move to the U.S., leaving my parents behind, in order to continue my education and become a better person.”
That difficult decision set Valdez on the path that led to what he is today: a Sacramento State engineering grad who in August started work as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.
With NASA, he is working alongside “the smartest people on the planet,” he said, and helping develop cutting-edge technology for aircraft, making planes faster, quieter, and more efficient.
Valdez’s interest in math, science and engineering started young.
“I was always good with numbers, had an interest in science, and wondered how mechanical things work from inside out. Then I realized that combining math with science was engineering,” he said. “So later on, that’s when engineering became my passion.”
When he returned to the U.S. as a teen, Valdez spoke no English. On his first day of high school in Live Oak, he says the principal asked if he was “in this school to be one of those gang members.” He immediately switched to River Valley High School in Yuba City and eventually thrived, enrolling at Yuba College before transferring to Sac State.
Felipe Valdez during his graduation from Sacramento State in 2016. (Sacramento State file photo)
Once on campus, Valdez became involved in multiple student organizations such as the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers, Leadership Initiative Program, and the MESA Engineering program, which supports underrepresented students in engineering and science. Inside the classroom, he appreciated the opportunity to get practical research experience and develop meaningful relationships with professors
“I truly enjoyed the combination of hands-on and research that comes with the Engineering program,” he said. “I got the experience that has now prepared me for the workforce.”
Valdez credits his family and close mentors with helping him succeed. Jose Granda, a professor of Engineering, taught several of Valdez’s classes and made a positive impact on his college and future career.
It was Granda who told Valdez about an internship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and encouraged him to apply. Valdez was initially hesitant.
“I said, ‘You know what, professor? This is NASA. I don’t even know if I’m going to be accepted or if they’re going to look at my application at all,’ ” Valdez said. “But he believed in me, and he made me believe in myself.”
Valdez got the internship, which kicked off his career with NASA and led to his acceptance into the NASA Pathways Student Trainee Program while in grad school.
Felipe Valdez (left) tests an International Space Station display prototype during his internship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. (Photo courtesy Felipe Valdez)
Granda’s connection to NASA is deep, including time as the Spanish-language spokesman for the shuttle mission. Valdez was the latest in a long line of Granda’s students to obtain an internship with the agency.
Valdez’s organization, attention to detail, and quality of work set him apart from other students, Granda said.
“To be able to come to an office hour and on a one-to-one basis talk with the professor, you begin realizing that there is a talent in there,” he said. “There is a love of the profession, of doing things of the best of his ability, doing things right.”
Valdez has a big future ahead. This summer, he graduated with his master’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UC Davis. He recently became engaged to his girlfriend, Priscila.
Importantly, his father has been sober since moving back to the United States about a decade ago.
At the end of August, Valdez began working for NASA remotely, though he eventually will move to Southern California, location of the Armstrong research center.
“Working with cutting-edge technology alongside top-quality NASA engineers, that’s really exciting for me,” he said. “Being part of the aviation technology that will help the world and have a positive impact in our lives is what fulfills me as an engineer.”
He’s a long way from living in poverty in Mexico, his future in question. His decision to pursue his education no matter what it took led him here, and he said he hopes his story will inspire others who are struggling or wondering if their dreams are realistic.
“Explore things you are curious about, and don’t be afraid of pursuing your dreams and what makes you happy,” Valdez said. “Make sure to stay focused and consistent, be proactive, and take care of yourself both physically and mentally. These are some of the things that helped me succeed in college.”
Made at Sac State 