Alum’s success inspires him to pay it forward to engineering students
- Alec Dent
- College of Engineering
- Contributors: James Greco, Photos
6 – minute read
When Abel Perez de Alderete returned to Florida Gulf Coast University to help his employer establish a scholarship for engineering majors, the 2018 grad already knew firsthand how meaningful it would be for future students. To be supported in the dream of earning a degree, and to have the opportunity to study in the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, was a turning point in his own life story and propelled him to his current role as vice president of engineering at AXI International.
When he was 19, Alderete had just finished a mandatory year of service in the Cuban military and decided to radically change his life. He received permission from the Cuban government to travel and bought round-trip tickets to Mexico — with no intention of ever using his return ticket.
“As soon as I landed in Mexico, I took a detour,” Alderete recalled. “I went to Nuevo Laredo, to the U.S. immigration office. I went through the process of getting legalized and walked out of there three days later with a one-year parole.”
After moving and being legally authorized to work, he started a job at Arthrex, the global medical device corporation based in Naples. Alderete’s first job was in packaging and manufacturing, but his interaction with Arthrex engineers helped him realize engineering and product development was his true passion. He decided he wanted to pursue a mechanical engineering degree or a bioengineering degree.
Working toward a college education
It would be years before Alderete was able to follow his dream. In the meantime, he worked and saved to bring his family to the United States and to ensure they’d have a place to stay when they arrived. He rented a condo, bought a car and financially supported his family.
By 2012, Alderete’s parents were settled in with jobs, and he felt he could start school. He applied to Edison State College — now Florida SouthWestern State College — and worked toward an associate in arts degree. Through a friend, he learned he could transfer to a four-year university in Florida to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering. FGCU has what’s known as a “2+2 agreement” with FSW — and a growing number of other partner schools in Florida — to offer associate’s degree recipients a seamless transfer to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Alderete graduated FSW in 2015 with a 4.0 GPA — while working full time — and transferred to FGCU to study bioengineering. By then, he had been promoted several times at Arthrex and worked as an engineering technician — a job he kept throughout his FGCU years.
Arthrex supported Alderete’s academic studies through a tuition reimbursement program, and managers helped him schedule work around classes. His professors and academic advisers were invaluable in navigating life as a full-time working student, he said. Whitaker’s academic program adviser helped him with course scheduling, scholarship applications and general academic advice, and faculty provided mentorship. As a transfer student, Alderete was also paired with a more senior bioengineering student to help him adjust to life at the university.
“I could sit here and mention all my professors,” Alderete said, singling out Jorge Torres, Chris Geiger and Derek Lura. He felt supported throughout the transfer experience and years leading up to graduation, he said.
This feeling was most apparent when Alderete was involved in a severe traffic accident in 2017. Professors and classmates worked with him to create a remote learning experience for the weeks he could not attend classes, so he could stay on track to graduate the following year.
Lura recalled Alderete as an “active and outgoing student” in spite of working off campus throughout his FGCU years.
“He participated in research projects with me and with other faculty,” Lura said. “He would often stay on campus late to study with his peers, and his effort elevated the performance of the whole cohort. Since graduating, Abel has been an active member of the alumni base and has continued to mentor students at FGCU, provided internship opportunities for our students and helped to provide feedback and support for the bioengineering program. I am grateful to have had Abel as one of my students and am glad to continue to have him as a friend.”
Supporting the next generation of Eagle engineers
Upon graduating in 2018, Alderete accepted a mechanical engineering position at AXI International, a Fort Myers-based leader in the development of fuel maintenance and management solutions. AXI specializes in supporting the availability of backup power in critical operations such as healthcare facilities, data centers, laboratories and government facilities where loss of power could cut off communication and access to critical services or even endanger lives.
In the years since, Alderete has been involved in product development, project management, startup and commissioning efforts as well as research and development.
In May 2023, he was promoted to vice president of engineering, and he continues to lead engineering efforts — and most recently to support the company’s expansion into a new, larger headquarters. The move expands AXI’s production and logistics capabilities to meet the growing demand for its products and services.
On the heels of his success, he wanted to give back to the community that supported him. Alderete pushed for AXI to relaunch a scholarship for engineering students at FGCU. He sought other ways to stay involved with his alma mater, including proposing that AXI donate finalized controllers to support an elective course on industrial automation. He then trained FGCU students how to program and use the controllers. He’s also helped recruit students to work for AXI.
“Now, being on the senior management side of a local corporation that benefits from good engineers coming out of that program, I want to do what we can to help develop the next generation of engineers in the area,” said Alderete.