San Luis Obispo Program's Legacy of Excellence
Alums Keep Jet Fighters Ready for Action at Northrop Grumman

MESA’S long tradition of producing outstanding engineering graduates for California industry lives on in Jose Serrato and Luis Valenzuela.

“There is one reason that the Northrop Grumman Corporation continues to actively recruit graduates from the MESA program at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo,” said Northrop Grumman’s Vice President of Engineering Frank Flores. “It’s because they are the best and brightest—they arrive ready to do the work.”

Serrato, a Northern California native, and Valenzuela, from Southern California, are living proof of Haynes’ declaration. Serrato is an alum of the MESA pre-college program at Fresno; both both came through the MESA Engineering Program at Cal Poly SLO and now work as structural engineers for Northrop Grumman on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter plane in El Segundo (Los Angeles County).

“We manage the structural integrity, the strength of the aircraft’s body,” said Serrato. “I like the fact that there is an end-product—seeing the final thing built and knowing you worked on it is very fulfilling.

“I’m extremely grateful that MESA was there as a resource for me in school,” he added. “It opened my eyes to engineering as a viable option for me. Had it not been for MESA, I could have gone a completely different way.”

One of four children born in Fresno to a Mexican migrant family, Serrato was the first in his family to go to college. He participated in both the college and pre-college MESA programs. He was a MESA student at Fresno’s Edison High School.

Following his graduation from high school in 1996, Serrato was accepted to Cal Poly SLO, majoring in mechanical engineering and continuing in MESA, which he said helped advance him to his career at Northrup Grumman, where he has worked for three and a half years.

“I have stayed in touch with a lot of folks I met through the program; there are a lot of us working as engineers here and in other places in the state.”

One of them is Luis Valenzuela, for whom the MESA program at Cal Poly SLO was a valuable support network in the high-pressure environment of college engineering courses.

“We came from similar backgrounds; many of us were first-generation immigrants from working-class homes,” said Valenzuela. “Getting help with classes, giving each other a hand with day-to-day issues, and having someone you can relate to—these things are so important in college. More than anything, MESA draws people together.”

Valenzuela worries about retention issues. “Without MESA, people would be wandering around campus alone until their third or fourth year, and by that time it may be too late.”

One person who is glad that Serrato and Valenzuela found MESA in time is Dawn Carter, College Relations Manager at Northrop Grumman and co-chair of Cal Poly SLO’s MESA Industry Advisory Board. “Jose and Luis are outstanding contributors to the Northrop Grumman community, and they represent what can be accomplished when a company works closely with an academic program to nurture talented people,” she said. “We’re proud to be part of the MESA success story.”

Northrop Grumman is a product of mergers of five companies that at different points have had important leadership roles in shaping MESA in the early years of its development. In addition to hiring MESA students, Northrop Grumman has also participated in diversity engineering scholarships and supported K–8 programs for MESA.

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