Fruitful gifts

Thanks to gifts from two generous donors, Arrowhead Center at NMSU is better equipped to assist students and alumni in seeing their entrepreneurial dreams come to fruition.

In fall 2023, NMSU celebrated a $3 million gift from Nusenda Credit Union to fund two financial technology spaces – the FinTech Lab at Arrowhead Center and the Center for Financial Capability in the NMSU Student Success Center and Campus Tutoring Services.

The NMSU Foundation and Nusenda earmarked $1.5 million for each center in 2021. The Nusenda Center for Financial Capability provides students with access to educational resources, financial planning tools and coaching to help them establish financial security and reach their financial goals. The FinTech Lab provides valuable early-stage resources to help startups reduce capital requirements while establishing their businesses.

Miguel Rico ’23 says the FinTech Lab has helped him not just in the business world, but in his personal life as well.

“The nine weeks of training that we did has given me the confidence to talk and speak with the power that they’ve given me, but also present and speak with confidence in the business world,” says Rico, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. “I’ve gotten much more opportunities through the connections that I’ve gotten, and only see my life on an incline to success.”

Yessenia Muñoz, an NMSU nursing student, says the Nusenda Center for Financial Capability helped her with her Scholar Dollar$ application as well as her FAFSA application.

“They sat down one-on-one to help me complete my FAFSA application,” Muñoz says. “As a student, there are financial burdens in figuring out how to pay for school and the extra costs associated with books and fees, so to have a service that assists students on campus is something that is so valuable and helps alleviate financial burdens so I can focus on my studies.”

“The services provided by the Nusenda Center for Financial Capability have helped numerous Aggies to better understand their financial capability,” says Tony Marin ’98 ’08, assistant vice president of Student Affairs. “The knowledge conveyed through peer coaching, lecture series, social media financial tips, the financial literacy fairs and the online financial literacy platform assists our students to strategically develop their financial capability skillset. We are grateful for Nusenda’s investment in New Mexico State University’s outstanding student body.”

Also in fall 2023, the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation announced a new $2.5 million gift to Arrowhead Center, doubling an earlier $2.5 million contribution, to further support the establishment of the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship.

One of the initiatives the new funding supports is the Mike Hunt Construction Sprints, named for the vice chairman of the board of directors for Hunt Companies. The sprints include speaker events, business model workshops, idea-generation programs, networking opportunities and awards for NMSU students.

“We are proud to serve as a collaborative hub in the growth and evolution of new enterprises in the Borderplex,” says Arrowhead Center Director Kathy Hansen. “The Hunt family deserves credit for their foresight and commitment to our entrepreneurship ecosystem, and for understanding the profound impact that strategic philanthropy can have on a community. With this new gift, we hope to establish the Hunt Center as a national exemplar when it comes to enhancing access to entrepreneurial resources.”

Ruben Meza ’20 says the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship has been pivotal in his journey in the yachting industry. After earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from NMSU, he went on to earn a master’s degree in luxury management from the International University of Monaco. After working in the yachting industry and learning its quirks, Meza developed the YACHTNOTES software platform that consolidates and standardizes communication for the yacht charter industry. 

“I wanted to come back to New Mexico, and I was very grateful New Mexico offers a lot of incentives for entrepreneurs, especially in consulting,” he says.

Meza participated in Studio G, which is affiliated with the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, and began building his business with the tools he learned. He went on to win first place in the Mark Challenge competition in Monaco.

“It’s very hard to start your own business, and having a team there to help you is the key to success,” Meza said.