New Mexico State University will host Founders Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at Traders Plaza to honor the diversity and unique aspects of NMSU. During the celebration, the newest Aggie Legend will be announced, and the fall 2021 and spring 2022 NMSU “A” Mountain Staff Award winners will be recognized.
NMSU’s “A” Mountain Staff Award is given to staff who demonstrate university core values of leadership, excellence, access, diversity and inclusion, and those who are student-centered. Tamara Carruthers, costume shop manager and instructor for the Department of Theatre, will be honored as the fall 2021 recipient and Aitiana Zamora, an academic adviser, will be honored as the spring 2022 recipient.
Carruthers, an NMSU graduate, has been managing NMSU’s Costume Shop since January 2017. Prior to working at NMSU, she spent 10 years as the resident costume designer and shop manager at the Wayside Theatre in Virginia. She also worked as a draper, assistant costume shop manager and costume shop manager for five seasons at the Creede Repertory Theatre.
As a student, Zamora was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority, a peer tutor for TRIO Student Support Services and a marketing intern for NM State Athletics. She currently works as an academic adviser with the Center for Academic Advising and Student Support along with being an instructor for the First-Year Experience courses, which supports new Aggies as they pursue their goals at NMSU. Zamora graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, master’s degree in business administration and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in educational leadership and administration in higher education.