By JAMES ROBINSONCandidate for UNM-LA Advisory Board
My name is James Robinson, and I am once again seeking your support to serve on the University of New Mexico – Los Alamos Advisory Board.
As many of you know, UNM-LA holds a special place in my heart. After graduating from Los Alamos High School back in 2007, I knew that I did not want to go straight into college. So I packed up and headed to the golden coast of California. However, it was soon apparent that higher education was the only way to get the life I wanted.
I returned home only to realize that I could not afford the traditional four year college, and I did not qualify for the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship. With my options limited, I turned to UNM-LA. After being accepted, I quickly became involved in Student Government, served as president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and received a job offer as an intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory. After three years, I graduated from UNM-LA with an Associates of Arts and Science in Pre-Business Administration.
Armed with the degree and skills I learned from UNM-LA, I was able to quickly complete my Bachelors of Business Administration in Operations Management from the Anderson School of Management at UNM. Also, with a new found confidence in my skills, I proceeded to join the Delta Sigma Pi Professional Business Fraternity, co-founded Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation, which I currently serve as chairman, and was hired as a fulltime employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Soon after the last election, I was appointed to the Los Alamos County Environmental Sustainability Board. I was then honored to participate in and graduate from the Leadership Los Alamos Class of 2015 (best class ever).
However, my greatest effort has been serving as the chair for Education Drives Discovery, and its effort to help UNM-LA survive the continual cuts in its funding from the state. I would be honored to be able to continue to give my time and energy back to the institution that was the cornerstone in the next chapter of my life. It is my belief that UNM-LA is an integral part of Los Alamos and the surrounding communities. With rising costs in tuition, funding from the state in question, and a higher demand in higher education, the need for the lower cost, high quality education that UNM-LA can provide is only going to grow.
I would bring the skills I have learned since UNM-LA in management, operations and technology to help the institution prepare for the future and become a cornerstone in the lives of many others.
If you would like to know more about me or my skills, please visit my LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/jamesnealyrobinson, or email me at jnrobinson88@gmail.com.
Thank you, and I would appreciate your vote Feb. 7.
