Pageant winner lauds technology

Miss New Mexico USA followed mother into mechanical engineering

The mechanical engineer crowned Miss New Mexico USA in a statewide pageant earlier this year hopes to use the role to inspire children, especially girls, to become engineers and scientists.

New Mexico native Kristen Leyva, 23, attended Desert Hills Elementary, Camino Real Middle School and Oñate High, all in Las Cruces. Her mother was a single parent who became a mechanical engineer, and, in doing so, inspired her daughter to pursue the same career.

Leyva recalls having a “persistent curiosity” as a child that got her into trouble once when she dismantled the family computer in hopes of finding out how it worked.

Her mother worked as an engineer for NASA on White Sands Missile Range. And, recognizing her daughter’s interest in science, opted to take her to work on an important day: the launch of a crew vehicle for the International Space Station. Leyva said she saw her mom as a “rock star” that day and wanted to be like her.

After graduating from high school in 2012, she opted to attend New Mexico State University, where her mother had attended, because she thought it was a high-quality program. And, having a close bond with her mother and older sister, she wanted to stay close to home.

Kristen Leyva said the mechanical engineering program was challenging. But another challenge arose along the way: Her mother, Jo Leyva, began a battle with colon cancer.

Unfortunately, Jo Leyva died two months shy of her daughter’s graduation from NMSU in December 2016.

“I wanted to be the same kind of role model she was for me,” Kristen Leyva said.