Alumni successes

Deborah Blume ’94 ’04

A school counselor at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School in Greenville, South Carolina, Deborah Blume has worked in six states and three regions of the United States. But she never forgets the impact her time at NMSU had on her.

“I wish I could talk to all of my professors and tell them they truly prepared me for my work in the world,” says Blume, who was selected as South Carolina School Counselor of the Year by the Palmetto State School Counselor Association.

In January 2020, Blume represented South Carolina at the American School Counseling Association’s Gala in Washington, D.C., and will represent the state at the association’s conference in June 2020.

Blume is now in her 25th year as an educator and continues to use the strategies and skills she learned at NMSU working with faculty members such as elementary school counseling Professor Mike Nystul; Eve Adams, who is the co-interim head of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at NMSU; and former NMSU College of Education Dean Michael Morehead.

Adriana M. Chávez ’19

Jesse Guardiola ’95

Jesse Guardiola, a criminal justice graduate and officer in the Tulsa Police Department, received the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing in December 2019 for leading Tulsa’s efforts in Hispanic outreach and community policing.

The honor recognizes state and local law enforcement officials for exceptional efforts in community policing strategies, criminal investigations and field operations. Out of 700 nominations, the Tulsa Police Department was chosen as the top agency.

“This award is as much for me as it is for the men and women at New Mexico State who challenge and change students’ lives every day,” Guardiola says.

Guardiola, a Ruidoso, New Mexico, native, continues his outreach to NMSU, traveling to campus three or four times a year to recruit criminal justice students for the Tulsa Police Department. NMSU Criminal Justice Department Head Dennis Giever said a large number of NMSU graduates have jobs with the Tulsa Police Department thanks to Guardiola’s leadership.

Amanda Adame ’19

Bobby Brooke Herrera ’12

A 29-year-old man who grew up in a small town south of Las Cruces is now the chief science officer of E25Bio, Inc., and listed on the 2020 Forbes “30 under 30” list of healthcare entrepreneurs.

Bobby Brooke Herrera co-founded E25Bio, Inc., with career researcher at MIT Irene Bosch and MIT professor Lee Gehrke. The company announced in August 2019 that it had raised $2.3 million in seed funding for its fever panel – the first of its kind to be able to screen for active viruses. The panel enables a more rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases in time for patients to receive potentially life-saving treatment.

“We need to get to a place where there is a just public health system and not an unjust public health system,” Herrera says.

In the next 10 years, Herrera hopes to develop better diagnostic tools that lead to a fairer healthcare system for people now suffering and dying in developing countries.

Minerva Baumann ’13