Albuquerque Journal

Opportunit­y Scholarshi­p is lifeline for students

Senate Bill 135 boosts fund by $26M, expands eligibilit­y to part-time students

- BY RAMON TRUJILLO

I was raised in Servilleta, a small mountain community in Northern New Mexico. I graduated from Mesa Vista High School in 2010. After being in the workforce, I returned to school and am pursuing an associate degree in liberal arts at the University of New Mexico’s branch campus in Los Alamos. I currently live on the outskirts of Española with my wife, Sarah, and our 9-month-old daughter, Arielle.

My whole life I dreamed of pursuing a college education and becoming the first person in my family to attain a degree. Becoming a firsttime father made me want this even more. Like most New Mexicans, I dream of providing my daughter with a future where she will have every opportunit­y to be successful and happy. Even though she doesn’t know it yet, I know that a degree will help me accomplish this for myself while opening more doors for her.

Pursuing a degree can be expensive, especially for working parents like myself, and the pandemic has made things even more difficult. Last year, I was faced with the tough decision of leaving my job to ensure the health and safety of my wife and daughter. My wife was eight months pregnant at the start of the pandemic, and my daughter was born with a congenital heart disease that required us to remain sheltered for the past nine months.

Fortunatel­y for me, I was awarded the Opportunit­y Scholarshi­p in the fall of 2020, which meant that I didn’t have to choose between continuing my education and buying necessitie­s for my newborn daughter. I am continuing my education by taking classes online while keeping my family safe. Without the Opportunit­y Scholarshi­p, I would not have been able to pay for the additional expenses associated with college to complete my classes and provide for my family at the same time.

New Mexico has long ranked near the bottom nationally when it comes to education, partly because people cannot afford to pay for a college education. Supporting Senate Bill 135 to expand the Opportunit­y Scholarshi­p by increasing funding by $26 million and expanding eligibilit­y to part-time students creates financial aid pathways to college that didn’t exist before. It includes part-time students and will help many more New Mexicans like myself, non-traditiona­l students, who would not have been able to achieve the dream of a college education and are not eligible for most scholarshi­ps. This is especially important as our state looks to recover from the impact of COVID-19 now in 2021.

After completing my associate degree, I plan to earn a bachelor’s degree that helps me link my interests in business and linguistic­s. My goal is to one day open my own interpreti­ng business to help people of different background­s break language barriers and achieve their own goals in life. As a recipient of the Opportunit­y Scholarshi­p, I feel supported by the governor, other elected leaders, and the public, and I am proud to be a student helping our state climb up through the national ranks. By opening access to higher education, we can help New Mexicans today and inspire our youth to dream big and fulfill their potential.

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