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Meet JSOM Student Manuel Saucedo
Manuel Saucedo is pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management at the Naveen Jindal School of Management and he is expected to graduate in December 2024
Saucedo is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a recipient of the Charles and Christina Quinn Award for Jindal School veterans and the VSC State Farm Veteran Award.
Coming to UT Dallas
“I was actually born and raised in Dallas, but I joined the military,” Saucedo said.
Saucedo served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an aerospace ground equipment technician.
“Mainly I was a mechanic most of the time,” he said. “Basically, I was working with my hands a lot.”
Upon leaving the military, Saucedo decided to come back home to Dallas.
“I started researching schools in the area and out of all the schools in the area, UTD was the one I was most attracted to,” he said. “It seemed like the best option in the DFW metroplex.”
Life on Campus at JSOM
Saucedo likes to start his days on campus early and purposefully parks farther from JSOM so he can walk by the student union and the reflecting pools lined with magnolia trees.
“Sometimes they’ll have different groups out there sharing their message or their events,” he said. “I feel like if I park at a lot by JSOM I might not see that.”
Saucedo tries to take classes back-to-back to get them out of the way. In addition to his classes, he works part-time, so his days are full.
Saucedo has enjoyed attending meeting for The Association of Lain American Students and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) UT Dallas chapter.
Overcoming Obstacles and Finding Success
As a first-generation student, Saucedo is grateful for the opportunity to study at UT Dallas, because his parents did not have the same opportunity.
“One of my obstacles was that I could not ask them to help me maneuver college life, but they did help me in other ways,” he said. “They are a big inspiration to me.”
Adjusting to college life after being out of school for his military service was initially a challenge for Saucedo.
“I did do some online schooling but that’s not the same as being here,” he said. “I know UTD has a lot of transfer students, but a lot of the students there are younger than me because I did do four years and then another year of community college.”
One thing that surprised Saucedo upon his return to school was how many students had transitioned to using technology in the classroom.
“I remember the first day of class, I brought a notebook and pencil and everybody else just took out a laptop,” he said. “Then I was like, ‘so nobody takes handwritten notes?’”
With time, Saucedo got used to being in the classroom again. When 2024 rolled around, his academic efforts were recognized in a major way.
“This year I actually got notified that I was put on the dean’s list,” he said.
Mentorship Along the Way
Saucedo has been grateful for the support and encouragement of Dr. Jeff Weekley, a clinical professor in the Jindal School’s Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area and director of the bachelor’s program in human resource management.
Before taking any of Weekley’s classes, Saucedo reached out to him to try and amend a scheduling conflict that would prevent him from graduating on time. Weekley helped Saucedo arrange his schedule so that he could keep his projected graduation date.
“Now that I’m in his class, it’s kind of the same way,” Saucedo said. “He’s been very accommodating, just with everything I’ve been going through. He knows I have a really busy schedule and he’s always willing to work with me.”
Looking to the Future
Saucedo completed a 10-week human resources internship at Amazon this past summer. This upcoming summer, Saucedo will take on a second Amazon internship at a different location.
After graduation, Saucedo intends to search for jobs in Dallas.
“I do want to stay in Dallas,” he said. “In human resources there’s so many different avenues you can take. I’ll probably end up starting as a generalist but one of my career goals is to find a specialty that I really like, be it recruiting or training and development or compensation and benefits.”
Wisdom for Fellow Students
Saucedo urged his fellow students in the human resource management program to build bonds with their peers and professors.
“You’re going to see these people in every class almost every semester,” he said. “Obviously, you need a little help along the way and it’s good to have someone you already know.”
As he charts the course for his future, Saucedo wants to remind all his fellow students at UT Dallas about the importance of making small goals.
“My experience coming out of high school — I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said. “I went to the military to be able to pay for schooling and then even when I left the military, I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”
Saucedo took small steps along his journey to get where he is and still makes that a practice today.
“I try to always have goals, even though I don’t have the end goal in mind,” he said. “Try to knock out little goals to reach the ultimate goal and eventually I’ll figure it out along the way.”
