Rodrigo Guerra Su receives 2024 Centennial Achievement Masters Award
Current AREC master’s student, and ABEM alumnus, becomes one of two recipients selected for a prestigious university-wide award. Read about his journey as a transfer student, and AREC undergraduate and graduate student.
Rodrigo Guerra Su, an AREC master's student, was selected as a recipient of the University’s 2024 Centennial Achievement Masters Award. Please join AREC in congratulating Rodrigo on this personal academic achievement!
Each year, the award is received by two students at the Graduate level. Awardees are presented with an engraved plaque from Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement and a stipend from the Graduate College. Eligibility for this award requires meeting specific criteria such as number of credits, academic achievements, community or campus service, professional affiliations, and university or work experience.
With Rodrigo’s extensive involvement and dedication to the AREC department’s faculty/staff and his peers, a nomination letter was a pleasure to write. Professor Anna Josephson gladly highlighted Rodrigo’s contribution to the department and his academic journey from the moment he transferred to the University of Arizona (UA).
Originally from Managua, Nicaragua, Rodrigo moved to the United States in 2019 to attend Glendale Community College in California, and in 2020 he began his UA academic journey. Despite facing the average hardships as a transfer student such as having little to no local connections, experiencing homesickness, and language barriers, Rodrigo persisted and completed a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Economics & Management with a 4.0 GPA in Spring 2023.
In Fall 2023, Rodrigo began his master’s degree with AREC. While taking graduate courses, Rodrigo juggled teaching assistant (TA) positions for AREC undergraduate and graduate courses, among which were AREC 403 and AREC 580. Both courses involve a great deal of challenging math, statistics, and econometrics.
Prof. Josephson added, “In all his work as a TA, Rodrigo excels because of his academic achievement of the material, as well as his desire to convey, share, and teach that information to students, and to support students in their learning process.”
In addition, he also participated in considerable research opportunities with Prof. Josephson. During his first year as a graduate student, Rodrigo assisted with a paper on economic evidence for climate adaptation, which is in the midst of its second round of peer review at the journal Climatic Change.
Now in his second year, Rodrigo has had a great impact as a research assistant (RA) with Prof. Josephson’s Lab involving data analysis with the World Bank. Rodrigo is contributing to the task of coding and analyzing data of millions of households in Sub-Saharan Africa and weather data. On top of that, he is collectively using his experience and gained knowledge from this lab to build off and write his MSc thesis on the subject.
Rodrigo’s contribution to research doesn’t stop there. This fall, he began collaborating with the Extension Regional Economic Analysis Program (EREAP) on their project analyzing the value of horse racing in Southern Arizona. The EREAP team and Rodrigo are providing AREC’s Cooperative Extension and its stakeholders across the state with applied economic and research analysis on state issues.
José Quintero, a collaborator on the EREAP project, shared, “Rodrigo has been outstanding. We’re working under ambitious goals, deadlines, circumstances, and workflow for this economic contribution report of the horse racing industry, and we can speak on behalf of how much he cares about the work, puts attention to details, and doesn’t hesitate to take extra time on a task.”
Spring 2025, Rodrigo’s final semester as a graduate student, brings more opportunities for outstanding achievements and hard work toward long-term goals. Rodrigo plans to apply to PhD programs within the next few months, and with such strong achievements and dedication, he maintains high hopes.
Rodrigo said, “This award highlights my academic dedication and resilience, which will strengthen my applications for PhD programs and job opportunities, by showcasing my ability to overcome challenges and excel.”
Rodrigo concluded with advice for students who aim to follow a similar path. He added, “Stay committed to your goals, seek mentorship from faculty, and actively engage in opportunities that align with your academic and professional interests.”
Visit the Dean of Students Office webpage to find more information about past and present Centennial Achievement Award recipients, and details about specific criteria and forms required for nomination.