UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS RECEIVE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AWARD

November 4, 2003

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS RECEIVE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AWARD

University of New Mexico School of Engineering (SOE) students Miguel Casias and Pedro Arturo Ramos each received a $5,000 leadership award from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) at its recent conference in Austin, Texas. Casias and Ramos were two of 15 students who received the awards at the conference. UNM was the only school with two recipients.

HENAAC was established in 1989 as a means of identifying, honoring and documenting the contributions of outstanding Hispanic American science, engineering and technology students and professionals. Corporations, government agencies, academic institutions, the armed forces and the business community-at-large have submitted thousands of nominees over the last 14 years for the prestigious recognitions.

The UNM SOE had numerous representatives at the conference including 30 students, three staff members and a faculty member. The students who attended HENAAC are all members of the Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization (HESO), an active student organization in the SOE. Attending professional conferences and networking with national organizations is one benefit members receive.

Applicants had to be student leaders majoring in engineering, math, computer science or material science, with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to qualify for the award. In addition to the scholarship, the awardees received a 2003 HENAAC Conference package that included free registration and lodging. Sponsors of the awards and the event included the Ford Motor Company, Northrop Grumman, Motorola and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Foundation.

For more information contact Benito Martinez at (505) 277-9921 or visit the HESO web site at http://www.unm.edu/~hesorg.

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