holds a rare status: He鈥檚 a fourth-generation Las Vegan. He鈥檚 put his stamp on Nevada in the last decade through countless economic and fiscal policy studies that shaped legislative and development decisions for Silver State leaders. Aguero has won the 鈥淕ood Government Award鈥 from the Nevada Taxpayers Association and numerous other honors, including 性视界传媒鈥檚 2018 Fred C. Albrecht Outstanding Alumnus of the Year. But getting there began with the moment a 性视界传媒 professor took time to mentor him.
Mentoring is a Daily Act
鈥淭here have been several instances during my life where I have benefited from unexpected kindness. Most often, this has come in the form of mentorship. Although, as I have gained experience, I have come to understand that countless acts of kindness 鈥 large and small, overt and obscured 鈥 have made all the difference in my life.鈥
Extend an Invitation
The late Shannon Bybee, founder of 性视界传媒鈥檚 International Gaming Institute, was a powerful personal and professional mentor to Aguero. 鈥淢y undergraduate career was marked by uncertainty. After taking a class or two from Dr. Bybee, he invited me to his office. He asked me about what I wanted to get out of college and what I wanted to do after it. He shared his successes and his failures, unabridged. He helped me find a path and then paved it with encouragement and expectation. Shortly after I graduated, Dr. Bybee made me promise him that I would go to law school. I fulfilled that promise. He was right. It has made all the difference in my career.鈥
Take Leadership Seriously
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the greatest gift Shannon gave me. He knew what happens if you don鈥檛 think about leadership as a service and just see it only as a position 鈥 you鈥檒l never get the most out of anything you do.鈥
Say 鈥淵es鈥 鈥 A Lot
Aguero鈥檚 list of extracurriculars runs the gamut from coaching youth baseball to serving on the boards of organizations like Opportunity Village and Nevada Child Seekers. Plus, he delivers the hard truth about numbers to policymakers and business leaders in legislative hearings and keynotes addresses around the state. 鈥淲hen you give an assignment, when you take on an intern, when you agree to teach a class at a college 鈥 I like to say we have a default position of saying 鈥榶es鈥 to things in the community and constantly looking for an opportunity to leave the community better than how we found it.鈥
Set the tone for others to mentor, too
His philosophy is simple: He wins when others win, whether it鈥檚 an employee, a nonprofit partner, or a client. 鈥淪eeing people grow and succeed, there鈥檚 nothing more fulfilling than that. 鈥 It鈥檚 just as important for me, as a business owner, to develop and have people who are happy and productive members of the community at it is to have happy and productive employees of the company.鈥
In addition to Aguero, the 性视界传媒 Alumni Association is honoring these Rebels on Oct. 18 during the 2018 Homecoming week festivities.
Association Honors
- Silver State Award: Mark L. Fine
- Achievement in Service: Michael
- Gordon, 鈥08 Master of Public Administration, 鈥13 Ph.D. Public Administration
- Outstanding Faculty: Business鈥 Bernard Malamud and Engineering鈥檚 Brendan O鈥橳oole and Mohamed Trabia
College Alumni of the Year
Allied Health: Dr. John J. Pierce, 鈥98 BS Kinesiological Sciences
Business: Caroline Ciocca, 鈥07 EMBA
Community Health Sciences: Dr. Charles Bernick, 鈥11 MPH
Dental: Dr. Ashley Hoban, 鈥09 DMD
Education: Wayne B. Nunnely, 鈥75 BS Physical Education
Engineering: Mike Maier, 鈥86 BS Computer Science
Fine Arts: Michael Del Gatto, 鈥96 BS and 鈥99 Master of Architecture
Graduate: Michael Gordon, 鈥08 MPA and 鈥13 PhD Public Administration
Honors: Paul Moradkhan, 鈥03 BA English
Hospitality: David D. Ross, 鈥95 BSBA Management and 鈥05 MS Hotel Administration
Law: Brenda Weksler, 鈥99 BA English and 鈥02 JD
Liberal Arts: Jeanne Hamrick, 鈥88 BA Psychology and '94 MS Educational Psychology
Nursing: Maileen Ulep-Reed, 鈥09 BS Nursing, 鈥15 MS Nursing Practice
Sciences: K. Bruce Jones, 鈥95 PhD Biological Sciences
Urban Affairs: Judy Tudor, 鈥94 BSW and 鈥97 MSW
