June 8, 2023
Contact: Maddy Mahony, maddy@lanlfoundation.org
LANL Foundation Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund
Santa Fe, NM – LANL Foundation celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund (LAESF) with a celebration at the Governor’s Mansion in Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. Over 125 guests gathered to celebrate the Fund, which has awarded over $11 million to more than 2,300 students. Distinguished guests and speakers included State Representative Susan Herrera, who was also the Founding Executive Director of LANL Foundation, State Senator Leo Jaramillo, co-founder of LAESF Bob Romero, current and former members of the LAESF Advisory Committee, donors, current and former LANL Foundation staff and board members, and LANL Scholars.
“What an incredible joy it is to see so many of the folks that have dedicated their time, talent, and financial support to this wonderful effort,” said Mike Ammerman, Scholarship Program Director at LANL Foundation. “This program really is a labor of love from the volunteers on the LAESF Advisory Committee who review the applications and select the scholars, to the students who invest their time and energy into applying, to the families who support and encourage their kids to achieve this honor.”
2023 LANL Silver Scholar Oz Leshem, who was also named the Santa Fe Youth Poet Laureate in 2021, read a poem he penned called “On the Road to Sante Fe,” inspired by his Monday morning drives from his home in Taos to New Mexico School for the Arts, where he was a boarding student.
LANL Scholar siblings Taylor and Dominic Roybal also spoke. Taylor was a Copper Scholar in 2019 and Dominic was a Senator Pete Domenici Scholar in 2017. Taylor and Dominic each graduated at the top of their class from Pojoaque Valley High School, and both credit their parents for instilling in them a love of learning at an early age.
“At the time my brother and I thought that we had the meanest parents in the world. Little did we know that they were setting us up to have an excellent work ethic and to stay disciplined in our studies,” Taylor said.
Both siblings graduated this spring from their respective programs at NMSU: Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Dominic completed a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering. Taylor and Dominic have both been awarded prestigious GEM fellowships at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
LAESF began in 1998 as a partnership between LANL Foundation, LANL, and several key employees who sought a way to give back to the communities in the surrounding area of Northern New Mexico. Since its inception, the LANL workforce has donated nearly $7 million to scholarships. LANL’s Community Partnerships Office plays an active role in fundraising during the annual giving campaign.
“Thanks to the generosity of the LANL workforce, this year’s three-week LAESF campaign far surpassed the goal of adding 25 new donors each week, and now has 123 new donors,” said Joanna Gillespie of the LANL Community Partnerships Office. “Combining the one-time and bi-weekly donations, the Fund has now surpassed the milestone of over $400,000 in annual gifts.”
While LANL employees are encouraged to donate through the LANL Giving Tool, community members who wish to donate to the Scholarship Program may do so through the LANL Foundation at https://lanlfoundation.org/donate/
Since 1997, LANL Foundation has been investing in education, learning, and human potential in Northern New Mexico. Through diverse programming and collaboration with key partners, LANL Foundation works to ensure that all New Mexicans have the skills and confidence they need to be self-sufficient lifelong learners who are engaged in their communities. LANL Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of students’ access to academic and technical opportunities, leading to quality jobs by supporting college and career readiness in schools, districts, communities, Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations. For more information visit: https://www.lanlfoundation.org.
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