Eilleen Garcia, TRIO Upward Bound senior student program coordinator at New Mexico State University, was elected to serve as president-elect of the TRIO New Mexico Association at the organization’s annual conference in April.
Garcia, who works with the Gadsden Independent School District/Las Cruces Public Schools program, will serve for three years on the TRIO New Mexico Executive Board. In year one, she will serve as president-elect, in year two, she will be president from May 2026 to May 2027, and in the third and final year, she will serve as past-president. Garcia is continuing the trend of NMSU leadership. Bernadine Booky, TRIO Student Support Services program director at NMSU, served as president from 2024-2025 and is currently past-president of the association.
Throughout her term, Garcia also will serve as a state representative on the Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs Board, a regional association that represents Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas TRIO Programs.
“I have some big shoes to fill, Past-President Bernadine Booky did an amazing job serving as president,” Garcia said. “I want to take this first year to learn from all my TRIO New Mexico colleagues, learn how they see their contributions to the organization, and try to use that to increase involvement from all TRIO serving institutions in New Mexico.”
Garcia’s career with TRIO at NMSU began in 2007 when she was a peer mentor for TRIO Student Support Services when she was in graduate school. In 2021, Garcia joined as a full-time staff member working with the TRIO Upward Bound program.
“Although we are working hard for the sake of the organization, it doesn’t feel like that because we are all supporting each other and building each other up for the good of the whole,” Garcia said. “TRIO is a family. I can call any TRIO program in the United States, and we will always lend a helping hand because we are all TRIO family, and the TRIO New Mexico Board takes that to another level.”
“Eileen’s colleagues across the state have full confidence in her leadership as demonstrated by her appointment as president-elect. Eileen will lead TRIO New Mexico during one of the most critical times in TRIO history, and I am grateful for her willingness to represent TRIO participants across New Mexico,” said Tony Marin, associate vice president for Student Affairs.
A two-time NMSU graduate, Garcia earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history in 2006 and 2008, respectively.
“A main goal of mine is to get all our TRIO programs and TRIO New Mexico members involved in our government relations initiatives, to advocate for TRIO and educate our elected officials in Washington, D.C., and in Santa Fe, New Mexico, about what we do and how many students’ lives we impact in our communities,” Garcia said.
For more information on TRIO New Mexico, visit https://www.trionewmexico.com.
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NMSU photo by Josh Bachman