By Scott Smith, Mesa mayor | Special to KTAR.com
As a mayor, I’ve been fortunate to learn many new things. One thing I didn’t expect to learn is the aerospace and agriculture industries in Arizona have very similar challenges.
An executive with an aerospace company once talked about the many challenges he faced in his business. He told the story of a talented graduate student from a major university who worked on a project with the company as part of his studies. The student demonstrated incredible skill, and the company wanted to hire him when he graduated. Unfortunately, the student was unable to obtain a visa, and he returned home to his native country. The manager lamented that while Arizona taxpayers had subsidized the education of this excellent student, they will not reap the benefits of his unique talents. Now, the student likely works for a company that competes with American businesses.
