Perry Taylor was born in Odessa, Texas to Ruth and J.W. Taylor.  He graduated from Permian High School in Odessa, where he was a saxophonist in the band.  He then joined the Army and spent some time stationed in Germany.  Due to a broken jaw, Perry had to give up the saxophone so he learned to play the piano.  After leaving the Army, Perry enrolled at Texas Tech, where he got his degree in accounting.  Perry lived for several years in Houston, where he worked for Exxon, until he returned to Odessa due to illness.  Perry died in December 1987 and was burried in Odessa.  After Perry’s death, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor (who both grew up in large families in the Roswell area) moved to Bent, NM. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore chose to donate this money to coincide with the recent celebration of Mr. Taylor’s 90th birthday.  They chose to donate to the Alamogordo campus because they believe it is the university that best serves the people of Bent.  They wanted Perry’s memory to make an impact and donated the money to our campus to be used for anything Dr. Jimeno and staff wished.  The decision of university management was to use the money for scholarships.  The Taylor family, The Moore family, and staff all agreed on offering the scholarship to recent Veterans who have served in the Iraq or Afghanistan war. 

The Janine L. Twomey Endowed Scholarship at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo will support scholarships for full-time students at NMSU-A.

Dr. Twomey expressed her gratitude saying, “I am pleased that my children have established this endowment in the year the college celebrates its 50th Anniversary, and I am proud that they share my commitment to education in Alamogordo–a city we called home for many years.  It is very gratifying to know that students will benefit from my family’s belief in their potential and our desire to support their educational efforts.  This endowment, represents a tribute to future students and an endorsement of the fine faculty and staff at NMSU-A.”

Dr. Twomey began her career in higher education in 1978 on the faculty of the Sociology Department at the University of Texas at El Paso where she had earned her MA and worked as a research assistant.  While in El Paso, she was also an adjunct faculty member at El Paso Community College.  In 1980 she joined NMSU-A as the 18th full-time faculty member and had the good fortune to be mentored by several of the original faculty who had established that campus twenty-two years earlier.  In 1988 she became a Division Head at NMSU-A, and she served in that role for three years.

She completed her PhD in psychology at New Mexico State University in the fall semester of 1990–the same semester her son Joseph began his freshman year at NMSU.  In the fall of 1991 she moved to California where she taught at Citrus College and at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Psychology.  In 1994 she returned to NMSU-A as Associate Provost for Instruction.  After serving in that position for three years, she assumed the position of Campus Director at NMSU-A in 1997.

Dr. Twomey was the first woman to serve as a division head at NMSU-A, the first woman to serve as an associate provost and the first woman to serve as campus director.  at the time, being the first woman in each of those positions didn’t seem particularly remarkable to her.  Over time, however, she became aware, especially through comments from female students and remarks by community members, that her professional experiences had allowed her the rewarding opportunity to be a role model.

Through out her career in higher education, Dr. Twomey was dedicated to helping students succeed and encouraging them to excel.  During her fifteen years at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo from 1980-1991 and from 1994-1998, she worked closely with students.  As a professor, she taught sociology and psychology courses and established support systems through mentoring, leadership and honors programs.  To recognize student achievement, she initiated the Behavioral Science Award for Academic Excellence and the Provost’s List, and she chartered and was faculty advisor for the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at NMSU-A.  As an administrator, Dr. Twomey continued to focus on student success through facilitating the development and growth of such initiatives as the distance learning program, the Abitur program and community education.  She placed a strong emphasis on achieving campus-wide excellence through conscientious planning and evaluation.

In recognition of her work at NMSU-A, she received the Donald C. Rousch Award for Teaching Excellence, the National Teaching and Leadership Excellence Award, and the NMSU-A Outstanding Professional Staff Award.

Dr. Twomey is now retired and living in Sacramento, CA with her husband, Dr. John J. Hedderson.  She is involved with professional and philanthropic organizations which provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.  She continues to expand her own education through travel, and with a recent trip to Antarctica, she has visited all seven continents.

The first NMSU-A recipients of the Janine L. Twomey Endowned Scholarship will be awarded in the Fall of 2009.

Pictured above are: Recipients ZaSean Fowler and Raelynn Johnson and Greg Shaver, OFCU Vice President of Marketing

Four students have been awarded the Otero Federal Credit Union Scholarship for 2008/2009. The recipients are: Raelynn L. Johnson, Tara L. VanCleave, Lisa D. Lance and ZaSean Fowler. Each student was awarded $1000 ($500 per semester).

The fund has been set up by Otero Federal Credit Union to help with
college education expenses for students in the 4 county area that OFCU serves in
southern New Mexico. The money was raised at their annual Memorial Day
Madness Golf Tournament at Desert Lakes Golf Course. OFCU anticipates
continuing this scholarship for quite a long time.

OFCU is committed to helping the local communities which it serves. This
is one way to give back to the people who have helped them succeed in their
mission.

Most importantly, college.gov is intended to provide inspiration and hope to all students, and encourage them to consider and pursue a postsecondary education.

1. Commit a day a week to find and apply for scholarships. One of the easiest ways to sabotage yourself is to not set up a routine or a schedule. You will put off your scholarship search until it is too late. Instead, pick a day of the week, like every Sunday, and make a commitment that by sundown, you will have found three new scholarships to apply for and have filed applications for them.

2. Learn to harness the power of Google. As detailed in the free eBook, Scholarship Search Secrets available at: http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/ebook/, Google is probably the most powerful tool you can use to find scholarships. Search websites like Google require a little bit of learning in order to get the most out of them. But when you do, the value they can deliver is immeasurable. The more specific you can be in your scholarship searches, the better the results will be.

3. Search your own school’s website.

4. Get personal and ask your financial aid office what other awards and resources are available. Financial aid offices are full of not only scholarship resources, but also financial aid administrators, some of whom have decades of experience in helping students pay for college. Make sure to visit during off-peak hours and times of the year to get to know your financial aid staff; they may be able to point you towards additional resources.

5. Expect rejection and do not take it personally. Recently a woman who applied for 60 scholarships landed 15 of those 60 but that was enough to earn her $130,000 in college funding and a free ride for four years. Had she given up after the first couple of rejection letters, she would never have managed to pay for college. Instead she kept going and going, and the results speak for themselves. Keep going!