UNM Honors College celebrates Homecoming and Open House

The UNM Honors College will host a Homecoming and Open House event on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The family-friendly event features an art exhibition at Spectra Gallery, a kids' room with fun crafts, and a silent auction fundraiser to support Scribendi, the Honors College Literature & Arts Magazine.

In addition, the Honors College will recognize its 2024 Young Alumni awardees and Distinguished Alumni recipients. Young Alumni Alison Turner and Julia Youngs and Distinguished Alumni awardees Alina Deshpande and David Shannon will be honored.

Current Honors College students will also give interested attendees guided tours of the renovated Honors College building. The free event will be held at the UNM Honors College, and food and beverages will be provided in partnership with the UNM Office of Alumni Relations.

"I am so grateful to our Honors Alumni Awards Committee for their hard work reviewing the many nominations our chapter received for these awards. It's not easy determining award winners from the pool of nominations from our extraordinarily accomplished alums across the 67-year history of UNM Honors," said interim Dean Leslie Donovan. "Among those nominated, all have made impressive and significant achievements in their lives and careers since they were honors students at UNM. I look forward to honoring this year's award winners at our Honors Homecoming event."

Distinguished Alumni recipients
Two distinguished alumni, including David Shannon and Alina Deshpande, will also be recognized as part of the Honors College Homecoming celebration.

Shannon graduated from The University of New Mexico in 1966 with distinction and a bachelor's of science in Mathematics and later earned a master's doctoral degree from Purdue University. He spent 45 years in higher education, mostly teaching at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., where he received numerous teaching awards, including the Transylvania Medal in 2011, the university's highest award to a non-alumnus.

Throughout his career, Shannon has been involved in numerous professional activities, conducting research and workshops and serving as a faculty mentor. He contributed a number of chapters in several publications and invited papers. Additionally, he held numerous appointments and participated widely in university and community activities. He served on several boards, including stints on the Board of Directors at Providence Montessori School, Inc., and university-wide search committees.

Alina Deshpande graduated from UNM with an MS in 1995 and a doctoral degree in biomedical sciences in 2003. She was selected by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for a prestigious director-funded postdoctoral research associate position. She currently leads the LANL Biosciences Division, overseeing 150 employees and a budget of $60 million. She has 70 publications and 2000 citations in peer-reviewed journals.

Since graduating from UNM, Deshpande has continued to pursue excellence in science, management, and mentorship through her management role in Division Leadership, and she reminds everyone of the importance of an excellent education, which has played a role in her success. In addition to her scientific and leadership contributions, Deshpande continues to play a vital role in the communities of Los Alamos and Northern New Mexico. She volunteers and teaches Indian Classical Dance classes at the Family YMCA on weekends.

Young Alumni recipients
Julia Youngs is one of two young alumni awardees. The category recognizes alumni who graduated in the last 15 years, and took at least 6 credit hours in the Honors College. Youngs graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's of arts, summa cum laude, and in 2016 graduated with a master's of arts in Latin American Studies and Community and Regional Planning. Young is currently a doctoral candidate at Oxford University in Sustainable Development.

While at UNM, Youngs was awarded numerous awards and scholarships, such as the UNM Latin American & Iberian Institute Field Research Gant, the UNM Feminist Research Institute Travel Grant, and the UNM Rogers Research Fellowship. She served seven years as the director of Programs for Creative Startups, a Santa Fe-based organization, and now is the Senior Program Manager at Microsoft.

Alison Turner is the second young alum awardee. She graduated from UNM in 2015 with a master's in Statistics from Boston University. In 2020, Turner worked for the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District (NCNMEDD) and assisted local businesses, governments, and individuals recovering economically from COVID-19.

In 2021, Turner founded the software company Metrics Together, which assisted local government and non-government officers with better understanding and using data. Metrics Together was mentioned as a "2022 ABQ Startup to Watch," and in 2023, Turner was awarded as a 2023 ABQ Woman of Influence. Turner currently serves as the senior economic development researcher for the National Economic Research and Resilience Center at Argonne National Labs.

The Honors College event will wrap up by 2 p.m., allowing attendees plenty of time to join in the festivities and fun at the UNM Alumni Homecoming tailgate at 4 p.m. in the Howl Zone Tailgate lot. The UNM-Fresno State football game follows the tailgate at 6:30 p.m. at University Stadium.

For more information on UNM Honors College Alumni events and to donate, visit the UNM Honors College website.

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