Cisco Trevino did not need another credential to prove himself. He went back to school because he wanted to keep growing.
The chief financial officer of a Texas concrete pumping company, Trevino is now an MBA candidate at the University of Houston (UH), slated to graduate in 2028. He serves as treasurer of the NSLS UH chapter, and he spent his first stretch on campus doing what he does best: building something from the ground up.
Trevino spearheaded the chapter's first golf tournament, a full-scale fundraiser that brought together corporate sponsors and the University of Houston Athletic Department. For him, the event reflects the kind of leadership he most wants to practice, the kind measured by what outlasts you and who you lift along the way.
Ask Trevino about his proudest achievement and he doesn't reach for a number or a title. He has hit financial milestones and moved steadily up the career ladder, but he treats those as byproducts of something harder to measure.
"Leadership comes in tiers," he says. "Mine arrived in waves, wins, goals, money, career growth. But reaching the top of that pyramid taught me something the climb itself couldn't: the real work isn't building, it's sustaining."
That distinction, between reaching a summit and holding it, reshaped how he defines work.
"Leadership isn't the accolades or the wins. It's being the one who takes responsibility when no one else will. It's putting in the extra hours without regard for where you sit in the hierarchy. A real leader takes the fall when things go wrong," he says.
Beneath the tiers and the pyramids, his definition of leadership rests on something that continues to drive his everyday actions: the importance of people.
"Real leadership never forgets that none of it exists without the people who show up alongside you."
Trevino's leadership did not begin in a lecture hall. As chief financial officer, he had already spent years making financial and operational calls with real consequences. When he enrolled at UH's C.T. Bauer College of Business, it was not to start over. It was to sharpen tools he already carried and to test his experience against new frameworks alongside other established leaders.
"Getting to that understanding required skills I had to build and refine over time: resiliency, grit, determination, credibility, and confidence," he says.
If there is a common thread, it is his conviction that growth never stops, no matter how senior the role.
"Each day we learn something new; we just have to be receptive to acknowledge the growth," he says.
That instinct to keep building shows up in how he spends his time on campus. As chapter treasurer, Trevino organized the NSLS UH chapter's first golf tournament from scratch, securing hole sponsorships, coordinating with the university's athletic department, and running a silent auction to support the chapter's mission. It was, in effect, a startup inside a student organization, an opportunity he spotted and constructed from nothing.
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Trevino's ambitions point outward. He frames his long-term goals less around personal advancement and more around what he can leave behind.
"Develop people, not just projects," he says. "Extend the same growth I've pursued for myself to the peers and teams around me, so leadership multiplies rather than concentrates. Build lasting institutions beyond business, leave structures like the golf tournament and the Coogs Den tailgate tradition that keep serving people after I've moved on."
Those plans are already taking shape through the chapter he helps run. Trevino is excited to expand the UH NSLS chapter to involve alumni more, grow its presence on campus, and fund scholarships, all while aligning its values with those of the university.
He credits the NSLS with giving his ambitions structure and guidance.
"[The NSLS] provided me with a platform, the resources, the accolades, and helped guide me through my professional career," he says.
As important as it is to recognize those who work with you and support you, Trevino understands that leadership starts with yourself and your mindset.
"Leadership begins within," he says. "You cannot lead others until you've first learned to lead yourself."
The idea traces back to a piece of advice he carries with him, one that reads like a personal creed.
"Impress no one but yourself. Reflect. Hold a standard. Lead with empathy. Understand people will be people."
Meet Trey Jackson next, a Most Outstanding Business Graduate and now law student who ran his own company while earning a 4.0.