Hunt Business Honors Brochu and Hjalmquist at Homecoming
Hunt Insights · Alumni and Homecoming
Hunt Business Honors Brochu and Hjalmquist at Homecoming
Brochu and Hjalmquist spoke about the professors, mentors, and early jobs that shaped their careers.
The Big Picture
Brochu and Hjalmquist return as honorees.
The Woody L. Hunt College of Business hosted its Outstanding Alumni Celebration on Sept. 24 at the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center. Mike Brochu (BBA ’74) was honored as a UTEP 2026 Distinguished Alumnus, and John T. Hjalmquist (BBA ’78) received the college’s 2026 Gold Nugget.
“I want this award to inspire students who went here, students who are here now and students who hope to come here,” Brochu said.
He previously received the college’s Gold Nugget in 2004.
UTEP President Heather Wilson and Dean John Hadjimarcou joined alumni, faculty, staff, students, and the honorees’ families for the Homecoming event.
Across the Program
Two careers, with students in the room.
Brochu spoke about growing up in El Paso and working at a bank during the week and building fences on weekends to pay for UTEP. His accounting degree led to a job at El Paso Natural Gas and, later, leadership roles across technology and investment.
He said the ability to solve problems and work with people stayed useful across those changes.
“We had what I call ‘LI’ — live intelligence,” Brochu said of his UTEP years. “I could turn to professors, and if I made time for them, they made time for me.”
Hjalmquist recalled getting a request for a visit from Hadjimarcou and Ty Page. They wanted his wife there, too. “They must be coming for money,” he remembered thinking. Instead, they told him he had been selected as the Gold Nugget.
He thanked Susan, his wife of 40 years, and Kirk Robison, a mentor with whom he has worked for 42 years. Hjalmquist also named four UTEP professors whose courses in history, writing, business communication, and accounting stayed with him as he took on new responsibilities in the restaurant business.
The three companies he leads now operate 75 restaurants and employ about 3,500 people.
“UTEP gave me the tools to succeed, but it was up to me to apply them once I left,” Hjalmquist said.
Wilson thanked alumni who support UTEP students and pointed to what education does beyond an individual career. “We often talk about the way an education changes a student’s life and the lives of their family. That is true. But all of us live better lives in an educated community,” she said.
Hadjimarcou ended the celebration with a reminder of what Homecoming means:
“This week asks us to come back. Today, it reminds us that the best alumni do something more: They bring something back with them.”
2026 Outstanding Alumni Celebration
