New Mexico LDZ enters new era by honoring Dennis Chavez, groundbreaking Latino senator

For Gloria de Leon, NHI’s Senior Executive Vice President and the architect of the youth legislative session program known as the LDZ, the rebirth of the program in New Mexico has been important to NHI’s work in leadership education. This year, it’s taken a greater step toward its own identity, with the 2025 edition at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque — and at the New Mexico State Capitol in Albuquerque — as the Dennis Chavez New Mexico LDZ Youth Legislative Session.

“New Mexico offers a very unique, encapsulated experience for well-integrated community leadership,” she said of this year’s program, which while primarily focused on a cohort of nearly 180 New Mexico high-performing high school students displaying leadership capacities, also included a trio of similarly talented students from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado who made their mark on the program.

“I marvel at how easily we can achieve universal leadership where there’s a deep respect from all the people that are engaged and involved, who they enjoy the process of learning from each other,” she reflected on what she saw during the eight-day program. “Nothing is too difficult to place in front of young people at this program, because of their willingness to dive in and to dive deep into new ideas and concepts.”

While this year’s program provided its usual emphasis on public policy and collaboration, by having students take on roles in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government during the immerse eight-day learning experience, NHI staff also test-drove some changes to the judicial portion of the curriculum, intended to shift more emphasis on policy analysis and less on competition.

State Sen. Michael Padilla, one of NHI’s most steadfast supporters in the Land of Enchantment, was once again a presence at the 2025 edition of the New Mexico LDZ.

“He’s one of the best advocates we’ve ever had,” de Leon said. “He stays close to the program. He makes sure he makes a personal appearance with the kids, he spends time with them,” noting that in addition to his customary presence at the State Capitol for the legislative portion of the program, he also attended the opening and the dedication of the program to Dennis Chavez — the first Latino lawyer in the U.S., graduating from Georgetown University Law School in 1920, and later becoming a U.S Congressman (from 1931 to 1934) and then first Latino U.S. Senator to serve a full term (from 1935 up until his death in 1962).

How students transformed

“The very first day, it was really stressful, and we weren’t quite sure what to expect. But as the days progressed and we got into positions and roles and had an idea of what we were going to be doing for the rest of the week, it allowed us to have something to look forward to and something to develop,” said Amirina Rai, a student at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M., part of the program’s top attorney team.

Like other students at the program, Rai learned the concept of community equity building that NHI has championed, which helps students assess the existing assets in their own communities and how to use those as a foundation for growth and betterment.

“Just being able to develop an actual proposal, an actual idea that can actually be implemented in real life … to pick sponsors, beneficiaries, who are the assets, who are the shareholders, and developing something that could actually be a reasonable outcome and something that could happen in real life, we were able to develop something that could actually have an impact,” she said of the experience. “So I think that was pretty cool.”

“A big thing that I learned with the LDZ is just how to use my voice and how to be confident using it,” said Cesar Cereceres of East Mountain High School in Sandia Park, N.M., named Best Debater for the Senate. “
I think there was such a support system of people wanting to hear my voice, and it was just a matter of biting down and using it that made it really inspirational for me and a very big learning opportunity for me to know how to use my voice effectively.”

Cereceres added that the program also taught the importance of listening, or as he put it, “knowing how to let other people use their voice as well … there are so many voices that deserve to be heard; I think it’s easy to kind of get over excited and just speak over people.”

Jaycee Marquez, from Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque, N.M., who served as Speaker of the House, echoed that sentiment as part of some valuable leadership lessons imparted over the eight days.

“You want to show people that leadership is achievable for everyone,” she said. “You don’t have to be like this big personality or someone plotting for that role since day one … I feel like what I further realized about being a leader is that you don’t decide if you’re a leader — other people do. Other people put you in that position because of your kindness, the way that you’re listening. I feel like listening is super important to being a leader.”

She also felt she was transformed thanks to the lessons she learned during the week. “I could already, in my mindset, feel myself applying community equity building … How could I word things better and be purposeful with my language? My biggest takeaway was realizing the words we use have a lot of meaning to them, and when we consistently use certain words, those do get passed down and then that is how people’s mindsets change.”

Top honors

Award winners at the program included:

House of Representatives

Most Distinguished Representative

Allison Watkins, Explore Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Best Debater

Eesha Gunukula, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Outstanding Legislator

June Loukinas, San Juan College HS, Farmington, New Mexico

Best Author of a Resolution

James Fehr, Explore Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Most Persuasive

Mia Rose, Gadsden HS, Anthony, New Mexico

Senate

Most Distinguished Senator

Cooper Donati, Farmington HS, Farmington, New Mexico

Best Debater

Cesar Cereceres, East Mountain HS, Sandia Park, New Mexico

Outstanding Legislator

Alejandro Alvarez Armenta, Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Best Author of a Resolution

Miller Millea, East Mountain HS, Sandia Park, New Mexico

Most Persuasive

Hans Johnson, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, New Mexico

Supreme Court and Attorneys

Chief Justice

Henry Newcomb, Atrisco Heritage Academy HS, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Justices

• Maya Falcón, Bosque School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Justyce Garcia-Archuleta, Robertson HS, Las Vegas, New Mexico
• TMia Martinez, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, New Mexico
• Andrea Navarro Venegas, Rio Grande HS, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Tobias Romero, Valley HS, Albuquerque, New Mexico Gaby Serrano, Explore Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Lilli Stiles Mohammed, Chaparral HS, Chaparral, New Mexico
• Luis Valdez Chavez, The MASTERS Program, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Outstanding Member

Rhece Johnson, Piedra Vista HS, Farmington, New Mexico

Best Orator (Attorney)

Kenai Cotonuts, Montezuma-Cortez HS, Cortez, Colorado

Top Attorney Team:

• Grantland Grant, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, New Mexico
• Amarina Rai, New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, New Mexico

First Runner-Up Team:

• Jial Wood, St. Michael’s HS, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Thomas Trujillo, St. Michael’s HS, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Top Elected and Appointed Officials

Speaker of the House

Jaycee Marquez, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, NM

Lieutenant Governor

Angel Hernandez, Alta Vista Early College HS, Anthony, NM

Governor

Antonio Martinez, Alta Vista Early College HS, Anthony, NM

Cabinet Members:

• Natalia Alvarado, Highland HS, Albuquerque, NM
• Zachary Trujillo Archuleta, Española Valley HS, Española, NM
• Isabella Cordova-Marlow, Robertson HS, Las Vegas, NM
• Sol Dalilah Marquez, Gadsden HS, Anthony, NM
• Alexis Smith, East Mountain HS, Sandia Park, NM

Authors of Passed Resolutions

• Alejandro Alvarez Armenta, Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School, Albuquerque, New Mexico (The Star Act)
• Stacey Asonganyi, V. Sue Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, New Mexico (New Mexico Youth Creative Fellowship Act)
• Jesus Del Real, Gadsden HS, Anthony, New Mexico (Natural Heritage Enhancement Act)
• Cooper Donati, Farmington HS, Farmington, New Mexico (New Mexico Urban Solar Innovation Act)
• Mateo Garay, Centennial HS, Las Cruces, New Mexico (The Locomotive Act)
• James Fehr, Explore Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico (The Acequia Preservation Initiative)
• Camilla Lujan, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Solar Schools Initiative)
• Miller Millea, East Mountain HS, Sandia Park, New Mexico (An Act to Ensure Multilingual Transcript Expansion in State Government Services)

Special Awards

Most Promising Male

Mateo Garay, Centennial HS, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Most Promising Female

Stacey Asonganyi, V. Sue Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Ricky Miranda Memorial Award

Sinai Flores Bejarano, Atrisco Heritage HS, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Dennis Chavez New Mexico LDZ is funded by the state of New Mexico through legislation sponsored by Senator Michael Padilla. 

Piper Davidson contributed to reporting on this story.