NNMC President Hector Balderas, Jaide Romero and Atalia Archuleta. Courtesy/NNMC
NNMC News:
ESPAÑOLA — Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, LLC (N3B) has announced the recipients of its 2025 Danny Nichols and Dennis Huddleston Memorial Scholarship. Two Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) students, Atalia Archuleta and Jaide Romero, are among the recipients, along with Paul Alcazar, who is pursuing a degree in chemistry from University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (UNM-LA).
The Danny Nichols and Dennis Huddleston Memorial Scholarship is sponsored by N3B each year to honor the lives of longtime environmental professionals Danny Nichols and Dennis Huddleston. Both had distinguished careers working at Department of Energy Environmental Management sites across the U.S., including Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
“We’re impressed with each of these students and their dedication to their fields of study,” said Brad Smith, N3B President and General Manager. “We’re honored to be able to support them in their educational journeys and introduce them to careers in environmental cleanup.”
Atalia Archuleta
N3B, with its parent companies and critical subcontractors, is cleaning up the environment around Los Alamos National Laboratory, managing the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office.
The $9,000 scholarship is the largest scholarship offered at Northern. N3B’s goal is to support students pursuing education and careers in environmental remediation, radioactive and hazardous waste management or energy. Eligible full-time students at NNMC or UNM-LA must have a minimum 2.8 GPA, enroll in at least 15 credit hours and demonstrate financial need.
“We are very grateful to N3B for their continued partnership and generosity, and we are extremely proud of our student recipients of this year’s Danny Nichols and Dennis Huddleston Scholarships, Jaide Romero and Atalia Archuleta,” NNMC President Hector Balderas said. “This scholarship isn’t just about financial aid; it’s a chance for our students to unlock their potential, to pursue their passions and to contribute positively to their families and community.”
The scholarship application called for students pursuing a degree in science or engineering, but Archuleta, who is pursuing her Bachelor in Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management, took a chance and applied. She successfully argued that the project management skills she is learning could be applied to waste management by assisting with the planning, coordination and budget management of these projects and could help N3B achieve important milestones within its legacy clean-up mission.
Archuleta said she is grateful for the scholarship, which should allow her to work fewer hours and focus more on her studies in her final semester at Northern. She has been working full time and pursuing her degree full time ever since she graduated from high school in 2021. Archuleta’s goal is to work with N3B or LANL.
“That’s always been the plan since I started four years ago. That’s always what I was aiming for,” Archuleta said. “Everybody in this town talks about how great the lab is, how great it is to work for Los Alamos {National Laboratory} or for N3B.”
Applying her project management skills to hazardous waste cleanup for LANL or N3B would fulfill another of Archuleta’s goals.
“It’s always been about helping the community, like if I’m going to get a job one day it’s to contribute to the community,” Archuleta said. “I decided on that in my sophomore year in high school. I took a class that was about helping the community, and I was like, that’s perfect, to get paid to help the community. That is the ideal job. It really inspired me.”
Archuleta said she is excited to put the skills she has learned at Northern to use as soon as she graduates, and hopes the scholarship helps her get her foot in the door with N3B. Wherever she lands, she plans to bring a dynamic approach to her work.
“I just try to shoot for anything I can, face new challenges and try something new every day, learn something new every day and do more than just the basic requirements,” Archuleta said. “I don’t just want to repeat the same cycle.”
Jaide Romero
Jaide Romero is pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering in Electromechanical Engineering Technology. She has ideas for applying her skills to creating radiation sensors, chemical sensors, a robotic arm for transporting hazardous waste and other devices that could increase efficiency and worker safety or furthering that technology if it is already in use.
“As I aim to make a lasting impact in the field of engineering, that’s what I hope will follow from this,” Romero said.
This scholarship will relieve the burden of paying for books and other academic expenses, but receiving it means much more than that to Romero.
“I’m really excited, and more than excited. I’m truly honored,” Romero said. “This is such a great accomplishment in my life, and I truly feel honored to have received this scholarship.”
Romero said she hopes the scholarship will open more opportunities with N3B or Los Alamos National Laboratory, which will help her fulfill her desire to stay in the Española community and give back.
“I’m driven by a deep appreciation of our traditions in Northern New Mexico,” Romero said. “Being deeply rooted in our community, I value the opportunities that follow in this area.”
Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the Waste Management Symposia conference (WM2025) in Phoenix, Ariz. in March. Archuleta and Romero have been offered expense-paid travel to the conference. They also will be considered for summer 2025 N3B internships. Both recipients said they are eager to attend the conference this spring.
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