CELEBRATIONS

Faces & places

Wise Fool New Mexico has been approved for a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the development of a bold public circus arts performance aimed at raising awareness about gender justice issues.

Wise Fool New Mexico’s project is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this year’s second round of Grants for Arts Projects funding.

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The Del Norte LOV (Living Our Vision) Foundation has announced the five nonprofit organization recipients of its spring 2023 Community Grant-Making Program. Each grantee will receive $2,500.

The Del Norte LOV Foundation, with the assistance from the Del Norte Credit Union Employee Foundation Committee, reviewed applications and identified organizations that are committed to improving the lives of youth and families in New Mexico. The recipients include the following:

◆ At-Risk Youth Grant Award: CASA Partners 4NMKIDS Inc. for back-toschool support for foster children.

◆ At-Risk Youth Grant Award: Santa Fe Public Schools for the Parent Academy.

◆ Community Enrichment Grant Award: San Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen in Española.

◆ Arts & Culture Grant Award:

Partners in Education Foundation to support the ArtWorks Program.

◆ Education & STEM Grant Award:

Embudo Valley Tutoring Association to support intensive tutoring and mentoring for K-6 students at Velarde Elementary School.

Education standouts

ARTsmart has announced its 2023 ART Changes Lives Scholarship winner is Sofia Leyba, a new graduate of the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe who plans to attend the University of New Mexico.

Sofia will be awarded $9,500 towards tuition and fees distributed over four years of study at UNM.

ARTsmart also awarded a $500 supply scholarship to Jaycob Sorensen, is a 2023 Capital High School graduate

who also will attend UNM.

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Lindsay Saulsberry of Santa Fe graduated recently from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., with a degree in public health and pre-medicine.

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Sophia King of Santa Fe received a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

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Peter Lujan of Santa Fe graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in communications and film studies and a minor in English.

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Morgan Schake of Los Alamos earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Carmen Moses of Santa Fe was

named the recipient of the William Rosenfeld Chapbook Prize in Creative Writing for fiction at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.

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Occam Kelly Graves of Santa Fe received a Bachelor of Science from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. Kelly Graves majored in mathematical and computational biology and graduated with distinction and departmental honors in biology. Kelly Graves attended New Mexico School for the Arts.

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Santa Fe Community College has announced Virginia Gonzales received recently received the Richard Bradford Memorial Creative Writing Scholarship. Gonzales will receive $1,000.

Named for the author of the 1968 classic Red Sky at Morning, the scholarship was initiated by author Michael McGarrity, the late arts advocate Charmay Allred and former Santa Fe City

Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger.

The college also honored emerging writers, photographers and mixed media artists who received Katie Besser Awards, named for the late Katie Besser in recognition of her love of literature and creative writing.

◆ Image: first place, Ayla Humphrey, “Illusion.”

◆ Poetry: first place: Laurie Hilton, “Border”; runners up: Aja Riggs, “Autofill”; Christine Schwatken, “When No One’s Looking”; Charmayne Samuelson, “Mesmer Mirage”; honorable mention: Ian Reschke, “Disillusionment.”

◆ Fiction: first place: Jesse Colvin, “Lessons in Adobe”; runner up: Abigail Rael, “Pass Through Me”; honorable mention: Aja Riggs, “Missing Piece.”

◆ Creative nonfiction: first place:

Abigail Rael, “Who Learned What?”; runners up: Brielle D. ,“y=mx+b, maybe?”; Rosalie Calhoun, “Toad Tripping”; honorable mention: Charmayne Samuelson, “The Vortex of Death.”

◆ Academic essay: first place:

Virginia Gonzales, “Getting Better”; runners up: Luis Ramirez, “Tech in Time”; Saif Mahmood, “Televising Criminal Trials.”

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Several area students were named to the winter 2023 President’s List at Southern New Hampshire University:

◆ Catherine Hinton of Santa Fe.

◆ McKayla Hicks of Santa Fe.

◆ Joy Fullmer of Santa Fe.

◆ Benny Lujan of Taos.

◆ Eileen Ceballos of Santa Fe.

◆ Alexander Howell of Santa Fe.

◆ Tara White of Edgewood.

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The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi recently inducted the following new members at New Mexico Highlands University:

◆ Alexandra Rodriguez of Las Vegas.

◆ Ange Gloire Zaina Demeyo Yamba of Las Vegas.

◆ Dillon Alexander of Las Vegas.

◆ Irma Berkowitz of Las Vegas.

◆ Jacob Booth of Edgewood.

◆ Jorge Gallardo of Las Vegas.

◆ Joselyn Tapia of Ribera.

◆ Kaylene Jacquez of Española.

◆ Kimberly Yatim of Santa Fe.

◆ Laura Santos-Medina of Las Vegas.

◆ Leonore Standing Elk of Santa Fe.

◆ Meagan Olsen of Peñasco.

◆ Melissa Smith of Santa Fe.

◆ Montessa Valdez of Santa Fe.

◆ Zoe Ahrens of Las Vegas.

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Cassandra Reed of Santa Fe has been named to Southern New Hampshire University’s winter 2023 Dean’s List.

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The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee has announced its 2023 scholarship winners:

SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL

◆ Nathaniel Steiger, an award in memory of Satch Cowan, funded by the Delle Foundation.

◆ Lucas Blakeslee, an award in memory of Nicholas C. Metropolis, funded privately.

◆ Justin Mirabal, an award funded by the New Mexico Consortium.

◆ Jacob Mirabal, an award in memory of Houston T. “Terry” Hawkins, funded privately.

CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL

◆ Isel Aragon, an award funded by the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee.

◆ Leslie Garcia, an award funded by the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee.

◆ Viviana Ornelas, an award in memory of Michael Williams, funded privately.

LOS ALAMOS HIGH SCHOOL

◆ Yeanwoo Park, an award funded by the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee.

◆ Isaac Gao, an award in memory of Nancy Laubach Freed, funded privately.

◆ Sonja Ebey, an award in memory of Nicholas C. Metropolis, funded privately.

◆ Violet Henderson, an award in memory of Rosalie Heller, funded privately.

◆ Adeline Feng, an award funded by the New Mexico Consortium.

◆ Quinton Geller, an award funded by the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee.

◆ Madelyn Crotzer, an awarded funded by the Class of 1970.

◆ Ming-Yuan Lo, an award in memory of Richard C. Swenson, privately funded.

COURTESY PHOTO Twenty years after earning her associate degree from Northern New Mexico College in May 2003, Board of Regents Vice President Erica Rita Velarde presented her daughter Devina Gonzales with her associate degree at Northern’s spring 2023 commencement ceremony May 13. They are the first two women in their family to earn a college degree. “I’m so blessed to be able to give Devina her degree. That’s like the coolest memory,” Velarde said.