Acevedo provides hope, inspiration to NMSU engineering students

Sylvia Acevedo ’79 believes in giving back to the university that helped shape her illustrious career.

In fall 2025, Acevedo returned to the NMSU campus to speak to a group of College of Engineering students. A graduate of the college herself, Acevedo spoke about her second book, “The Trailblazer’s Playbook,” which she wrote to distill the life lessons she learned to become a technology executive and board leader, as well as an author whose career spans the engineering and business fields.

“NMSU was a great university for me, and it was a way of giving back and providing hope and inspiration to the rising generation. I view the book as a baton pass so that they, too, can live a life of their potential,” Acevedo says.

Alexandra Moncada, a chemical engineering undergraduate student, says she attended a breakfast and discussion with Acevedo as part of the College of Engineering Student Ambassadors Program.

“As the only woman in the room, she pointed out to me that she was often in the same position as a young woman pursuing her higher education in the world of engineering,” says Moncada, who also received a signed copy of Acevedo’s most recent book. “In her, I saw whom I aspire to be — a strong Mexican American woman who has seen the fruits of her labor and that of those who came before her come into fruition in her manifestation of the American dream.”

Acevedo, a native of Las Cruces, began her career as a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and went on to hold senior executive roles at Apple, Autodesk, Dell and IBM. She now serves on the boards of Qualcomm and Credo Technology. She also served as the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, leading the organization’s most significant modernization in its history, launching more than 140 new programs and expanding STEM education nationwide. She was a White House Education Commissioner and helped shape federal education initiatives that reached millions of families.

“People don’t understand that the sky is the limit, and it’s important for me to propel that kind of mindset, that you can have the life of your dreams and make your own opportunities,” Acevedo says.

For more information about Acevedo, visit sylviaacevedo.org.