Education

Santiago Sena, along with several other Luna Community College students, started the SkillsUSA journey months ago. And for Sena, the journey will continue to the national competition as he took first-place in the Action Skills competition earlier this month in Albuquerque.

“It’s a good feeling, I didn’t think I was going to win it,” said Sena. “I have more confidence now. I really liked everything about SkillsUSA and I intend to come back next year.”

By Margaret McKinney
Highlands University

New Mexico Highlands University graduate student Sebastian Medina was accepted into the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

The 24-year-old native of rural Mora is a first-generation college student who completes his master’s in natural sciences in May, with an emphasis on environmental sciences and management.

Submitted to the Optic

Fourteen Northern New Mexicans have received $1,000 Returning Student/Regional College scholarships from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Employees’ Scholarship Fund.

These awards help students returning to a formal education for certification or a two-year degree at an accredited regional college. Many of the students receiving these awards are pursuing new careers.