BY WENDEE BRUNISH
Los Alamos Phi Beta Kappa Association
The Los Alamos Phi Beta Kappa Association is pleased to announce the winners of our regional scholarship awards for 2026. In just our fourth year awarding regional scholarships, due to generous donations from our members, we were able to award six $1000 scholarships.
Our goal is to support historically under-represented groups in fulfilling their educational and career goals and making significant contributions to their communities, our nation and our planet in all areas of the liberal arts and sciences.
The scholarship awards recognize academic achievement as an indicator of promise for future accomplishments. All our scholarship winners have pursued excellence in high school (each earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher), and have plans for pursuing a college education that will enable them to build a career that will allow them to fulfill their professional and personal goals and contribute to making their communities and the world a better place.
We are confident that all our awardees will, as scholarship winner Alexandra Otero wrote to us, strive “to be able to help in whatever room [they] stand!”
If you would like to support the Los Alamos Phi Beta Kappa Association’s effort to improve our world through enhancing access to education in the liberal arts and sciences for under-
represented minorities in north-central New Mexico, we would welcome your donation to LA- PBK (memo – regional scholarships) to PBK-LA Coordinating Committee, P. O. Box 5221, White Rock, NM 87547. Donations may also be made via the PayPal link:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D27D76LXW2MRJ
Please keep reading to learn about all this year’s outstanding scholarship winners!
Andreeya Garcia, graduating from Santa Fe Indian School, will be attending New Mexico Highlands University and plans a Major in Business. Courtesy photo
Ana Silva from Santa Fe High School plans to attend the University of New Mexico to study visual art and ultimately hopes for a career in teaching. Courtesy photo
Abraham Duran Carrillo, graduating from Capital High School, plans to attend Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and to major in biology. Courtesy photo
Avery Roser, from Santa Fe High School, plans to attend the University of New Mexico in the fall and pursue a career in speech pathology. She aspires to become a speech therapist for children in hospitals and/or schools and is grateful that this scholarship will help to make her dream possible. Courtesy photo
Shyla Trujillo, a graduating senior at Santa Fe Indian School, is thrilled to be attending the University of Portland for her undergraduate studies. She will be majoring in Environmental Engineering for her undergraduate degree. Courtesy photo
Alexandra Otero, graduating from Monte del Sol High School, plans to attend the University of New Mexico to pursue a degree in nursing. Alexandra wants a career where she can support and care for others and seeks an education where she can build the strong clinical skills needed to become a travel nurse. Her ultimate goal is to provide care in different communities and regions both across the country and around the world. Courtesy photo