New Mexico State University (NMSU) has revealed that Bernadine Booky, the program director of TRIO Student Support Services at NMSU, has been elected president-elect for the TRIO New Mexico Association. She will serve a two-and-a-half-year term on the TRIO New Mexico Executive Board.
Prior to her current position, Booky held the role of treasurer on the TRIO New Mexico Board from 2019 to 2021. According to an NMSU press release, she transitioned from being an administrative assistant at NMSU's TRIO staff in 2014 to become mentor coordinator in 2015, and later assumed her current role as program director in 2022. In addition to her responsibilities within the TRIO New Mexico Association during her new term, Booky will also represent her state on the Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs Board.
Booky expressed great enthusiasm about this appointment. She said in an NMSU press release: "It is such an honor to be able to serve my state and a program I am so passionate about in this capacity." Her main objective for her term is "to strengthen an already close-knit TRIO New Mexico Association so that all TRIO Programs at New Mexico universities can work together for the benefit of the TRIO staff and TRIO participants."
Tony Marin, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, also shared his views on Booky's election. According to an NMSU press release, Marin said: "I am delighted that the New Mexico TRIO Association membership has elected Bernadine to lead advocacy efforts on behalf of potential and current first-generation college students," He further commented on how "Bernadine’s leadership will enhance both the New Mexico TRIO and the Southwest Association of Student Assistance Program organizations," and he affirmed that "Bernadine will represent New Mexico State University and our seven TRIO programs very well."
The TRIO New Mexico State Association is a platform established to advance equal educational opportunities for students, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, or economic status. According to the association's website, it achieves this goal by creating a communication network that encourages advocacy and provides networking opportunities for TRIO professionals across the state.