Couple wants to spur future Aggies from Taos
Anthony and Kristin Chavez have established a New Mexico State University scholarship for students from Taos and surrounding counties.
The scholarship is officially named the “Anthony and Kristin Graham Chavez Endowed Scholarship.”
Anthony Chavez is the president of the NMSU College of ACES (Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) Sam Steel Society. His wife is from Taos, where her parents — Ruben and Carla Graham, of Lower Ranchitos — have been longtime small business owners.
The creation of a new endowed scholarship was matched by funds made available through “Giving Tuesday” last month.
The couple said they like where the college is heading. Chavez wants to re-engage other alumni like himself and his wife to connect back to NMSU. “We are all people who are crimson for life,” he said.
Chavez mentioned that the society has a mission to recruit students, raise funds and re-engage alumni who will promote the retention of current students and find job placement for those students in life after college.
“Everything good I have I owe to NMSU,” he said. “It’s where I met my wife. It’s where I got my degrees to get me into the great career I have.”
Kristin Chavez adds, “It matters where you go to school, and life is easier with the opportunities that open up with your education.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a declared major in the department of Agricultural and Extension Education, must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and must be a U.S. citizen. Preference will be given to students from Taos, Río Arriba, Colfax, Mora or San Miguel counties.
The couple is also interested in starting an alumni chapter for NMSU in Taos if there is interest. For more information, contact Cindy Nicholson at (575) 646-4665.
