Platinum scholarship recipient Trujillo exudes confidence

Everything's a learning experience for soon-to-be New Mexico Tech student

May 17, 2010—Some people call it cocky, but Escalante High School senior Estevan Trujillo calls it confidence. The 18-year-old Trujillo said he had an inkling he would receive a Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund scholarship. But he didn’t think he’d receive the $7,500-a-year for four years platinum scholarship. He plans to put it to good use studying either mechanical engineering or computer science — maybe both — this fall at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Trujillo said he felt confident after going through the LAESF scholarship advisory committee interview earlier this year. “It wasn’t like a job interview. I felt really good about myself. I felt I did the best that I could. I was able to be myself in the interview and be as open as I could,” he said.

He explained to committee members why he felt he deserved a scholarship and highlighted his academics. One of the scholarship criteria is academic standing — his weighted grade-point-average is 4.32 making him a candidate to be valedictorian of his senior class.

He’s also taking nine classes this school year: four at Escalante High, an Advanced Placement correspondence course in psychology through Brigham Young University, and four other college courses through Northern New Mexico College. When he steps foot on the New Mexico Tech campus this fall, Trujillo said he will have completed the equivalent of 50 college-level credit hours.

Another scholarship criteria is financial need. Trujillo’s mom works two jobs, and he also works at the High Country Restaurant in Chama. “I know what it’s like to have to support yourself, your family, and to have the work,” said Trujillo.

So when he was notified a couple weeks after his interview that he would receive a LAESF scholarship, Truillo was pleased — and confident. “I made my education a top priority,” said Trujillo.

Budding computer scientist

Trujillo took an early interest in computers. He got his first computer at age 8 and mostly played computer games. But it also was his introduction, he said, to the Internet, and helped him develop an appreciation for computer science.

Now, Escalante High is reaping Trujillo's computing expertise: he developed a computer program utilizing Excel to help the school calculate GPA’s of the school’s students. School staff had to take mountains of data and calculate, by hand, GPA’s for the entire student body. Trujillo offered his assistance. “They’re using it now and it’s saved them a lot of time,” said Trujillo. “It was one of those things where it was a problem for them, and I just wanted to fix it.”

Trujillo learned about the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund at a seniors career conference in Pojoaque. A representative from the Lab was at the conference. “We chatted for awhile; he asked me my class rank and my GPA. He then asked me to apply for a scholarship,” Trujillo recalled.

In early March, Trujillo received a call from the LANL Foundation. “They told me that I would be receiving a scholarship but I needed to go before the scholarship selection committee,” he said. About two weeks later he learned from a member of the scholarship advisory committee that he’d be the platinum scholarship recipient.

The first thing Trujillo did was call his mother, Angela Rivas at the salon where she works as a hairstylist. “She was doing someone’s hair. She was very excited; the person whose hair she was doing thought something was wrong.

“She was really happy. After work when she got home she gave me a really big hug and said she was proud of me, ” Trujillo added.

“When I heard the top prize was $30,000 at that point I didn’t picture myself winning that [amount.]. I felt really exhilarated and surprised. I’m so thankful to LANL for this opportunity,” he said.

Is Trujillo ready for the academic rigors of college? As a high school junior he took the equivalent of 17 courses, including college-level courses, so he’s confident he is.

“Grades do count in college, but I really want to learn and I want to be able to apply what I learned,” he said. “I don’t want to take a class just to earn a grade. I want to actually learn. I want to make everything a learning experience. Even if I do make mistakes, I want to learn from those mistakes.”

Trujillo encourages other Northern New Mexico students to also apply for a Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund scholarship. “Apply even if you think you don’t have a chance, because we don’t always realize what our strengths are,” he said. “Your strengths will help represent LANL, your community and Northern New Mexico.”