Gustavo Mora Gamez

Grand Challenges Scholar Gustavo Mora Gamez chose electrical engineering with a clear purpose: to turn his early fascination with electricity and building models into a career with a tangible impact in his community.

This mindset led the Phoenix native to the Ira. A Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, where he found both a strong electrical engineering program and the opportunity to apply his knowledge to address real-world challenges.

His purpose came into focus during his internship with Salt River Project, where he contributed to projects aimed at reducing outages and strengthening infrastructure and reliability. Initially, his work felt disconnected from his goal of helping others, though that changed when he started seeing projects he had contributed to being constructed in the field. 

“Seeing that transition, from something on paper to real infrastructure, was really powerful for me,” he says. “It made me realize that the work I was doing wasn’t just technical; it was directly improving the lives of people in the community.”

While working in the field, a residential customer thanked his team after learning the technical upgrades would help prevent future outages that had previously affected her mother’s medical equipment. For Mora Gamez, it was an affirming reminder that engineering work extends far beyond technical design and directly affects people’s lives.

“My internship experience really confirmed that I was on the right path,” he says. “It connected my interest in engineering with my goal of making a meaningful, real-world impact, and motivated me to keep growing in this field.”

In addition to industry experience, Mora Gamez engaged in service through Engineering Projects in Community Service, working on a coral reef restoration project, and helping develop systems to monitor environmental conditions. The work continued to reinforce his interest in applying engineering to real-world problems outside the classroom.

Mora Gamez also took on leadership roles across campus. As vice president of the Amateur Radio Club, he organized activities and taught technical concepts to fellow students, preparing them to take exams to obtain their technician ham radio license. As a student ambassador in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, he guided prospective students through the engineering program, helping them better understand both the curriculum and college experience.

After graduation, he intends to remain in Arizona and continue working in the utility industry with long-term goals of obtaining a professional engineering license and a master’s degree in business administration.

Favorites

Hobby: Building things (LEGO, cardboard, metal, wood, circuits)
Movie: Interstellar 
Game: Minecraft 
Sport: Mixed martial arts
Activity: Play board games (Uno)

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2026 class.

Written by AJ Montes