Some students choose a college because it is close to home. Others choose based on cost, convenience, or campus life. But for Cesar Alexander Aguilar, the decision to attend Goldey-Beacom College came down to something deeper: purpose.
Cesar is in his fourth-year working toward a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies. Born and raised in Delaware to Honduran parents, his story has been shaped by sacrifice, discipline, service, and a clear sense of responsibility.
To understand why he chose Goldey-Beacom, you first have to understand the foundation he was raised on.
Cesar’s parents came to the United States from Honduras with a goal of building a better life. His father worked tirelessly, starting with a single truck and trailer before building a transportation business that now operates along the East Coast and supports shipping to Central America.
The family business began with Geo Transport, which Cesar’s father started with his brother. Later, his father launched JCA, named after his three children: Jasmine, Cesar, and Alex. Today, he also runs Total Car Logistics, or TCL, which has expanded into oceanic shipping.
His father’s story is closely tied to Cesar’s own.
“His biography has a lot to do with my biography,” Cesar says.
But for Cesar, the most valuable inheritance was not only the business. It was education. College was not optional in his household. It was the reason his parents came to the United States. It was the gift they wanted to give their children.
“That was the promise that they came here for,” Cesar says. “That’s the gift, that’s their inheritance, in a sense.”
Cesar enrolled at Goldey-Beacom before enlisting in the United States Army. Education came first. Service followed.
In August 2024, Cesar enlisted in the Army. By January 2025, he left for boot camp. After graduating from boot camp in March, he went to San Antonio for Advanced Individual Training as a 68W, or “68 Whiskey,” which Cesar described as combat medic healthcare specialist training.
It was not the path he expected.
“I’ve always been into numbers,” he says. “Never was a science guy.”
Cesar had originally considered becoming an 88M motor transport operator, a role that made sense with his background around trucks and his CDL experience. He had grown up around his father’s business, helping move trailers and containers, working in the office, and applying what he was learning in school.
Then the Army told him he had scored high enough to become a medic. For Cesar, something clicked.
He and his younger brother had always loved superheroes. They talked about becoming police officers, firefighters, or medics because they wanted roles that involved action and helping people. His sister became a nurse. His brother became a volunteer firefighter.
Cesar found himself drawn to the idea of being the person who runs toward the emergency, “When I think of a medic, I’m like, a medic is like a firefighter combined with a nurse, like a doctor.”
He was also inspired by Desmond Doss, the World War II medic whose story was portrayed in Hacksaw Ridge.
“While others are taking life, I’m saving it,” Cesar says.
What surprised him most was not only that he liked medicine. It was how calm he stayed under pressure.
“I can just stay calm in a really, really pressurized situation and get to work,” he says. “That’s kind of like a superpower.”
That realization did not replace his business goals. It expanded them.
Plan A became Plan A and Plan B. Entrepreneur and paramedic. Businessman and medic. Discipline and service.
I love medicine. I love helping. I can stay calm in a really, really pressurized situation and get to work. That’s kind of like a superpower. While others are taking life, I’m saving it.
Cesar’s choice to attend Goldey-Beacom was not about chasing a large campus experience. In fact, that was part of what he wanted to avoid.
“I felt like I would just be a number,” he says of larger schools.
What he wanted was a place where people knew him when they needed to, and where help was close enough to access without having to fight through layers of complexity.
When Cesar first arrived at Goldey-Beacom, he was excited to be back in a school environment. As someone who had been partly homeschooled, he enjoyed making friends and finding community during his first year. He trained with friends while competing in boxing. He also began using social media and built connections through his competitions, even hearing from professional fighters along the way.
Over time, though, he realized he did not want to be distracted by trying to build an image of himself online or on campus.
“The real me kind of came out,” he says.
For Cesar, college became less about performing a version of student life and more about staying focused.
At Goldey-Beacom, he found a school that could fit that rhythm.
“Here, all my teachers know who I am,” he says. “And all the people that need to know who I am know who I am.”
He keeps his routine simple, “I go to class, I put my hoodie on, sometimes I put my hood on.”
That does not mean he sees college as unimportant. It means he sees it as one part of a larger plan.
“There’s a lot of important stuff in here,” he says. “But I like to just go out into the real world and get my real experience.”
That real-world experience has included helping with his father’s businesses, earning certifications and licenses, training in boxing, competing in the Golden Gloves without a formal trainer, enlisting in the Army, and preparing for a future that may include both logistics and paramedicine.
For Cesar, Goldey-Beacom gave him the space to do that. It gave him structure without asking him to become someone else.
Cesar does not seek the spotlight. When asked what he does at Goldey-Beacom, he laughed and answered simply: “Nobody knows me.”
But behind that quiet presence is someone who thinks carefully about the future. With his business degree, Cesar plans to pursue an NVOCC license, a credential that would allow him to operate more broadly in international ocean freight. It requires experience, business credibility, clients, and knowledge of international transportation.
The degree matters because it helps support that next step.
“With a bachelor’s degree in business, you’re more likely to get accepted to get an NVOCC license,” he says.
At the same time, Cesar is exploring paramedicine. The work appeals to him because it allows him to help people while also building a stable life for himself and his future family.
And retirement? He already has thoughts about that too.
“I’ve never been a person who likes to sit down,” he says.
One day, he can see himself opening and running a gym. For someone who has boxed, trained, worked around trucks, studied business, and become a combat medic, sitting still was never really the plan.
His path is not linear. It is layered. And that is intentional.
When Cesar was fifteen, an accident changed the way he looked at his life. After that experience, he began planning in five-year increments. At twenty, he made a plan for the next five years. At twenty-five, he plans to map the next stage.
But he is also clear about one thing: planning does not mean refusing to change.
“When you live your life planned, you have to be prepared for change,” he says.
That mindset is what allowed him to consider paramedicine without abandoning entrepreneurship. It is what allowed him to enlist after enrolling. It is what keeps him focused on growth instead of comfort.
His advice to other students is simple.
“Make a plan before you start,” he says. “Make a plan while you’re studying, even.”
Then he adds something bigger.
“Don’t be afraid of going really high,” he says. “If you aim really high, you might not make it that high, but you’ll make it way higher than you would have if you aimed low.”
His own life reflects that advice.
A homeschooled student stepping into the Golden Gloves ring. A business major becoming a combat medic. A son of immigrants preparing to help expand an international logistics operation. A student who prefers to keep his hood up and his head down while quietly building something bigger.
None of it happened by accident.
What I like about Goldey-Beacom is that it’s private, it’s small. Here, all my teachers know who I am, and all the people that need to know who I am know who I am. I was able to do school while getting all these certificates and licenses that I need.
When asked directly why he chose Goldey-Beacom, Cesar did not give a surface-level answer. He chose it because it fit the way he wanted to move through the world.
He wanted a place where he would not disappear, but where he also would not be forced into a version of college that did not fit him. He wanted access to professors, flexibility to build real experience, and enough room to pursue goals outside the classroom.
Goldey-Beacom gave him that.
It gave him proximity to family and business. It gave him professors who knew him personally. It gave him flexibility as he enlisted, trained, worked, and kept moving forward.
For Cesar Aguilar, Goldey-Beacom was not just a college decision. It was a strategic one.
As he prepares to walk in May, with his diploma arriving in August after completing his final summer classes, he carries more than a degree. He carries the promise his parents made when they crossed borders for opportunity. He carries the discipline of boot camp. He carries the calm confidence of someone who plans with vision but knows how to adapt.
He also carries a clear sense of purpose. And that is something no campus size can measure.
Goldey-Beacom College is a Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
Text Telephone/Teletypewriter (TTY) Relay Service: 711 or 800-232-5460 for English or 877-335-7595 for Spanish
