NMSU Campus. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)

New Mexico State University's College of Health and Social Services has awarded the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Nursing Scholarship for the 2013-14 academic year to Neyda Aldaba and Giovanna Dadig-Jaramillo.

"We are very pleased that the School of Nursing receives such generous support from scholarship donors in our community," said Teresa Keller, associate professor in NMSU's School of Nursing. "The Hearst Foundation has been instrumental in assisting our students to realize their educational goals in nursing. We wish to thank the Hearst Foundation for all they do for our students."

Aldaba received a $3,000 award. She is a junior nursing student that graduated from Mayfield High School in Las Cruces and is the first person in her family to attend college.

"I am very thankful and honored to be chosen as one of the recipients for the Hearst Scholarship," Aldaba said. "This scholarship means a lot to me, because it is helping me achieve my goal of becoming a registered nurse."

Dadig-Jaramillo, a senior nursing student, is slated to graduate in May 2014. She received a $1,000 award and transferred to NMSU from Dona Ana Community College after graduating from Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque. Dadig-Jaramillo will be the first in her family to graduate college, and she has a younger brother, who is a freshman at Eastern New Mexico University.

"I was very grateful to be selected for such a generous award," Dadig-Jaramillo said. "For me, being away from home, funds tend to be tight especially with the cost of living and school combined so hearing that I was receiving a scholarship was a relief and weight lifted off my shoulders."