About NM MESA

Students writing code

Students from Del Norte High School in Albuquerque collaborate over a team coding challenge.

New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (NM MESA and/or MESA) is a pre-college program that prepares students for college and careers in mathematics, engineering, science or technically related fields. The MESA program is coordinated through six regional offices, each staffed by a Regional Coordinator, that is hosted at a local higher education institution, including: Univeristy of New Mexico main-campus (UNM), New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU), Navajo Technical University, New Mexico State University (NMSU), Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) and Eastern New Mexico University Roswell (ENMU).

MESA supports student programs in middle and high schools throughout the state. Each school program is administered by a teacher (typically a STEM education teacher) from the school who receives a stipend for this work from his or her school district. Through these programs, MESA students participate in a variety of enriched math, science and engineering activities including field trips, speakers, workshops, regional and state-wide academic competitions, community service and leadership development projects. NM MESA provides funding and logistical support for these and other activities.

NM MESA also offers a senior “Loyalty Award” to graduating high school seniors who enroll in college the fall they graduate from high school. This award, which can be as much as $1,000 per student, is based on the student’s MESA participation during middle and high school, academic grades and standardized test scores.

NM MESA is part of a national consortium of MESA states, which operates collaboratively to ensure that all students in America have access to the courses, supports, mentoring, experiences, networks, and other resources that they need in order to earn degrees in calculus-based STEM fields and pursue careers in STEM. Learn more about MESA USA and the MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition (NEDC). NEDC is an annual competition bringing together the top middle and high school MESA teams from around the nation to showcase projects that address community needs using a human-centered design approach and integrating a coding element. 

NM MESA serves as the fiscal sponsor for MESA USA.

Our Mission

Empower and motivate New Mexico’s culturally diverse students with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) enrichment.

Our Vision

Diverse, well-educated, professionals who reach their full potential as leaders through Math, Engineering, Science, and technology Achievement.

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