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@Northern we meet you where you are. Whether you are a first-generation student just out of high school or a returning student with work and family obligations, you will find the academic options and one-to-one support you need throughout your educational journey. Whether your career goals are in STEM fields, business, nursing, education, the film industry, arts & humanities or tech trades, one of our 50+ programs can meet your needs.

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A screenwriting class at Northern helped Hayward transform her idea into an attention-getting script ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Northern New Mexico College is proud to announce that film student Dawniel Hayward has won 2nd place in the Screenwriters Conference 2026 Pitch Competition on June 7, 2026. Hayward’s winning pitch earned a $350 cash prize and attracted the attention of a major film producer. The first-place winner, Omar Paz Trujillo, is also a filmmaker from Española. The pitch competition was open to all participants of the Screenwriters Conference, which was organized by the Stagecoach Foundation and the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and presented by the New Mexico Film Office. The organizers describe the conference as “a creative crucible designed to push your craft further.” Hayward was inspired by hearing advice from some of the industry’s top screenwriters, including some from her favorite shows, like “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Reservation Dogs.” She learned about the importance of the script’s first page and different pitching techniques, which she found useful in preparing her own pitch. One of the highlights for Hayward was teaming up for three hours with a group of people in a mock writers’ room. “I was pretty starstruck, honestly, by the whole event,” Hayward said. Hayward’s pitch was for a TV show titled “Bent Rails: A Punk Odyssey,” inspired by Hayward’s own 10-year journey as a traveling musician who hopped freight trains all over the country. Her lead characters are Kindred, a gutter punk who hops a train that is swallowed by a time portal, and Lily, a teen Chicana artist from Northern New Mexico who is fleeing an unbearable home life and searching for belonging. These two strangers are linked across space and time and by a graffiti tag that keeps appearing in the liminal spaces they travel through – HIRAETH, which is a Welsh word meaning a longing for a home that doesn’t exist, or that you cannot access. The written pitch closes with “This is a show with a queer heart and an anarchist pulse – honoring generations of misfits, drifters, and revolutionaries. It is a story of survival, belonging, and identity – set against a backdrop of late-stage capitalism and a country haunted by its own history. It poses the question: what if those who have been pushed to the margins of society were actually the most capable of changing our current timeline, of reshaping our future?” Hayward grabbed the judges’ attention by starting with her own story. She told them “I spent my 20s homeless, living out of a backpack, busking, hitchhiking and train-hopping around the country – and what I learned is that when you live a life untethered to society’s normal structures, and you pair that with complex PTSD and a crippling drug problem, you develop a weird relationship with time. You realize time doesn’t always move in a straight line. It buckles, it bleeds, and if you’re pushed far enough, it can break.” Giving her pitch was intimidating, but Hayward appreciated the opportunity. “It was great, because that's half of screenwriting, just being able to pitch your idea effectively, because there's a million scripts out there and nobody has time to read them all. So your pitch is your entry ticket to anyone even looking at your script,” Hayward said. “I was realIy surprised to find out that I was a finalist, and then I was pretty terrified to have to present my pitch to a huge room of people, including a bunch of screenwriters and producers in the industry. Then I was even more surprised to take second place.” Hayward’s pitch was effective. Afterward, some of the producers who heard it told her they got choked up during her presentation. “It really hit them in an emotional center, and I'm like, that's my superpower,” Hayward said. “I have this story that I really need to tell, and I just need to have faith in that.” The idea for the series came to Hayward eight or nine years ago, but she credits her screenwriting class with Film & Digital Media Arts (FDMA) Associate Professor David Lindblom with helping her bring the idea to fruition. Hayward is pursuing a Bachelor of Integrated Studies in Media and Art at Northern. “I never anticipated that just by taking a screenwriting class at college, this would happen. Honestly, I think so many people have a really good idea, but it never gets written,” Hayward said. “In the class, I had to finish things by a deadline, learn formulaic writing, and abide by industry standards. I’m used to writing prose, and being poetic and descriptive, and you can't do that in screenwriting. It's all about telling a visual story in concise language, it’s not a novel. My professor, David Lindblom, gave me the tools to transform this huge idea into a screenplay.” At the end of the conference, a major producer approached Hayward to schedule a meeting with her. “I’m actually getting the opportunity to talk directly with someone who helped produce the whole “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and the “Avatar” franchise. I’m like, wow, that's a real producer,” Hayward said. “I don't know how common it is for someone with their first script to immediately get it produced, but it did get me a conversation and a foot in the door. My dream job would be working in a TV writer's room. That would be amazing. Then maybe in a few years, after I've built some more reputation, they'd be like, ‘Hey, I'm interested in that TV pilot you wrote a while ago.’” Hayward is still absorbing the impact of the experience and looking forward to her meeting with the producer. She said, “It's amazing. It's a tricky industry to find your way into. I feel like I kind of pushed through that threshold a little bit, and that feels reaFrom left: Omar Paz Trujillo, 1st place winner of the Pitch Competition, 2nd place winner Dawniel Hayward and DezBaa’, Northern alumna and adjunct faculty
Jun 19, 2026 NNMC student Dawniel Hayward scores 2nd in Pitch Competition Northern New Mexico College is proud to announce that film student Dawniel Hayward has won 2nd place in the Screenwriters Conference 2026 Pitch Competition on June 7, 2026. Hayward’s winning pitch earned a $350 cash prize and attracted the attention...
From left: Peter Fant, CEO of San Ildefonso Services; Daven Quintana, PMI Chief Operating Officer; Trish Alley, Small Business Advocate, LANL Small Business Program; Yvonne Gonzales, Small Business Program Manager, LANL; Eric Quintana, CEO and Co-founder of PMI (SBA National New Mexico Small Business of The Year Award); Julianna Martinez-Barbee, SBDC Director NNMC, New Mexico Small Business Development Center; Ron Lovato, CEO, TSAY Corporation and Pueblo Alliance, LLC (SBA National New Mexico Rural Small Business of the Year); Justin Crossie, SBA Region VI Regional Administrator and Larry Phillips Jr., COO Tsay Cooperation. Photo credit: Eric Williams Photography SBA photographer
Jun 17, 2026 Pueblo Alliance LLC Honored as SBA Rural Small Business of the Year Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) is pleased to announce that Ron Lovato, President of Pueblo Alliance LLC and CEO of TSAY Corp., has been honored as New Mexico’s Rural Owned Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration...
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Student Research: Española GloveWorks

What began three years ago as the Parkinson’s Glove Project at Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) and Española Valley High School (EVHS) has transformed into Española GloveWorks, a newly formed 501(c)(3) focused on developing youth creativity, technical competence and leadership while bringing the hope of a promising technology to people suffering from Parkinson's disease. 

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NNMC Interns Explore Career Opportunities in the Community

In Fall of 2024, Northern New Mexico College’s (NNMC) Career Services Department launched a transformative internship program designed to provide career-ready opportunities for first-generation college students from underserved communities. The internships are designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and workforce readiness. During the program’s first year, Career Services has placed 50 students in paid internships across a range of high-demand fields. 

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Carnegie Foundation: NNMC among Opportunity Colleges and Universities

Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) is proud to announce that it has received the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 2025 Opportunity Colleges and Universities Classification. Northern is one of 478 institutions to earn this prestigious classification, which recognizes institutions that provide higher than expected levels of access to low-income and underrepresented students, and their students experience strong earnings outcomes. 

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New Tech Trades Programs at NNMC: Carpentry, Welding, HVAC

Northern New Mexico College Technical Trades is excited to announce three new programs designed to prepare students for careers in high-paying, in-demand industries: HVAC Technology, Welding Technology and Carpentry Technology. All three programs were designed in conjunction with local unions to ensure students are trained to current industry standards. Graduates are eligible for one-year pre- apprenticeship programs, with could potentially reduce a four-year apprenticeship (leading to journeyman status) by one year. 

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Video: Lightning Boy Foundation, Hoop Dancer, ShanDien Sonwai LaRance, and drummer, Edwin Felter.

 

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