College scholarships awarded to children of deceased New Mexico workers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – They are the children of New Mexican workers who either died or suffered permanent injury on the job. Ranging from police officers to bus drivers to security guards, their kids are getting support through scholarships from a local nonprofit.
'My dad's name is Luis Alvarez, and he used to be a bus driver for Greyhound,' said Karla Alvarez, a junior at New Mexico State University. She and her sister Alexa lost their father, Luis Alvarez, to a crash in 2018 when a semi crossed the center line on I-40 near Gallup and hit his bus head-on.
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Now, they both attend New Mexico State University, pursuing degrees in accounting and nursing, both on scholarships. 'It's so amazing to just be able to go to class and not have to worry about going to work, or work two to three jobs,' said Alvarez.
The sisters rely on the Toby Wright scholarship that has been around for 31 years, serving college students in New Mexico. 'The scholarship program is for kids of parents who have been seriously injured or killed in a workers' comp claim in New Mexico, that otherwise couldn't get a higher education due to the financial hardship,' said Brock Carter, President of the New Mexico Workers Comp Association Foundation (NMWCA).
MNWCA awarded ten students going into or already in college, scholarships from $1,400 to $10,000, with the opportunity to reapply each semester. The accidents the recipients lost their parents range from the past couple of years all the way back to 2006 when New Mexico State Police officer and former Marine James Archuleta died in a car accident. 'So, I was about a year and a half old. I was raised by a single mom, and she's done everything for me. I'm really grateful for that,' said his son Jesse James Archuleta, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico.
He is pursuing a business management degree at UNM. 'I plan to follow in his footsteps and go into federal law enforcement upon completing my degree. And at some point, hopefully serve the state of New Mexico as a federal marshal,' said Archuleta.
350 people attended their scholarship ceremony, celebrating some getting their degrees and some just starting. 'They're all doing great, they're all great students, have great GPAs, very enthusiastic about school. And what we want to try to have them do is focus on school, take away the financial worries so they don't have to work,' said Carter.
Others who were awarded the scholarship this year include the children of Matthew King, a fire rescue specialist who died in a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office helicopter crash in 2022. Also, the son of Daniel Bourne, who was murdered while working security at Calvary Church that same year. New Mexico Workers Comp Association Foundation said they've helped 80 students so far and awarded $1,599,000.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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