by Jodi Hunley
Daily Lobo
The New Mexico Lottery has put out a call for Lottery Success Scholarship recipients who have graduated from a New Mexico college or university and have stayed in New Mexico to work.
The New Mexico Lottery is working with Kilmer and Kilmer, Inc. on its next advertising campaign that will feature graduates who have taken advantage of the scholarship to show New Mexicans where their money is going every time they buy a lottery ticket.
The campaign will prove to New Mexicans that "they are graduating and are now working in New Mexico and are part of New Mexico's economy," said Tom Shaheen, CEO of the New Mexico Lottery. The campaign will consist of TV, radio and some print advertising.
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The first recipients of the scholarship, which began in 1997, are beginning to graduate and that provides a good base to get success stories, said Dawn Beck, the campaign's advertising manager.
"The program has experienced continued growth, momentum and success thanks to New Mexico Lottery retailers and players," said Nadine GuillÇn, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Lottery. "Through the ad campaign we are happy to show how the program has benefited students' lives."
One hundred percent of lottery profits go to the state for public education. The total net revenue since the lottery started in 1996 is $170.3 million. There have been more than 22,400 recipients of the scholarship. As of Spring 2002, 4,302 of those students have graduated, GulliÇn said.
To qualify for the scholarship, students must hast have graduated from a New Mexico high school with a 2.5 GPA or received a New Mexico GED. They then must enter a New Mexico college or university and earn a 2.5 GPA in their first semester. Students can receive the scholarship for up to eight consecutive semesters as long as they maintain a 2.5 GPA.
"It's important for people to know that when they buy a ticket they are supporting education in New Mexico," said Joseph Escobedo, a UNM graduate who applied to be in the campaign. "It helps New Mexicans make New Mexico better."
Escobedo graduated in the fall of 2002 after receiving the Lottery Success Scholarship and is now a news producer at KOAT Action 7 News.
"The scholarship got me where I am today," Escobedo said. "It provided me with the opportunity to be able to work part-time and have internships. Without an internship I would have never gotten the job I have now."
The ads are targeted at everyone in New Mexico. The first ones should appear sometime in June, Beck said.
