Fittingly, the first recipient of the Karen Trujillo scholarship fund, established in honor of the three-time NMSU alumni and former superintendent of Las Cruces Public Schools Trujillo who unexpectedly passed away in 2021, was awarded to a future teacher who hopes to follow in Trujillo’s footsteps.
Teena Bhakta, a graduate student in the School of Teacher Preparation, Leadership and Administration, graduated in December 2021 with a master’s degree in educational leadership. She works at NMSU, mentoring and educating the next generation of educators and continuing her work with the children and families at Doña Ana County Headstart.
The scholarship was established by Trujillo’s husband Ben Trujillo, a southern New Mexico State Farm agent. It was further supported by State Farm and as of 2023 is at more than $220,000. Trujillo looks forward to helping many more students become teachers in the years to come.
Contributions to the Dr. Karen M. Trujillo Memorial Endowed Scholarship may be made at https://nmsufoundation.org/givenow/karen-trujillo.
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O'Donnell Hall, Suite 301
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