Read the Spanish translation of this article.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico’s second congressional district visited NMSU on Oct. 24 to speak with students about career opportunities and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pathways.
Vasquez made his first stop at NMSU’s student-run Westside Bistro. There, he sampled dishes and spoke with students majoring in hospitality and tourism, as well as fashion merchandising and design, on work opportunities and owning a business in New Mexico.
From there, Vasquez spoke to STEM students in the Corbett Center Student Union, where the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) held a presentation. The crowd held dozens of students in the organization from around the state.
Vasquez highlighted the importance of New Mexico graduates using their skills in-state.
“Whatever career path you choose, look to what problems you can solve in your home community,” Vasquez said. “…The assets are here. We are building them…We have an amazing trove of some of the most talented and smartest people already here in New Mexico, and they’re waiting for you to knock on their door and ask for a job, and ask for an opportunity, and ask for a shot.”
Vasquez added that many who leave in search of study and career opportunities elsewhere end up coming back.
“Many students that leave New Mexico for career opportunities, you’ll find that a lot of them come back,” he said. “And they come back because this is home. This is where folks speak the language, look like us, and where there’s opportunity…So please stay in New Mexico.”
During the gathering, the AMP’s hosts praised the new Doña Ana AI data center, now in its planning stages, for the work opportunities it will create for STEM students. Vasquez stated that it is the job of politicians to hold those investing in the data center accountable to hire New Mexicans as opposed to out-of-state workers.
“We’ll talk to our local county commissioners, and that’s all in the contracts that are going to be written regarding the workforce requirements,” he said. “So, in that sense, when you look at a thousand good paying jobs…that is a game changer for the economy. That lets those families or people that are here buy homes and be able to afford a quality of life that they should be living.”
Alongside the jobs emerging in New Mexico due to AI, Vasquez said he plans to the state increase trade with Mexico to create more jobs for southern New Mexicans, where careers in logistics, warehousing, transportation, geothermal, and more are growing along the borderland.
“We’ve seen, over the last decade, Doña Ana County overtook Bernalillo County as the largest net exporting county in New Mexico, and that number continues to grow because of the jobs that we’re adding down south,” Vasquez said. “So that means facilitating trade with Mexico, making our diplomatic relationship better with Mexico.”
Vasquez included advice to students interested in launching a political career. He said it starts with becoming involved in the community, where he served on the food pantry board, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board, and Downtown Revitalization Partnership board.
“I never thought I’d become a city councilor, let alone a member of Congress,” he said. “But it is building a relationship and community and developing leadership skills at the local level that allows you to have the skills to run a campaign, to then be able to be elected and gain the trust of your constituents.”
Additionally, Vasquez made a statement on New Mexico’s history of lower economic opportunity and how the state has persevered.
“For a long time, we have been one of the poorest states in the nation financially,” Vasquez said. “But we’ve held up, held on to our culture, to our tradition, to our identity, to our stories, to who we are, and that’s one of the things that makes New Mexico the strongest state in the nation.”
