'Awesome to be a part of it': Teachers and instructors awarded Medals of Merit by NM National Guard

If you ask Jimmy Carter Middle School teacher Matthew Campbell what got him into teaching, it certainly wasn’t the expectation that he would be rewarded for his work.

“As a teacher, I never expected to be recognized, like ever,” he said with a smirk.

But on Tuesday, in the school’s gymnasium in Northwest Albuquerque, Campbell and five other instructors were awarded one of the highest honors a civilian can receive: the New Mexico Medal of Merit from the New Mexico National Guard.

The instructors were awarded the medal personally by Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, the New Mexico National Guard’s adjutant general, for their participation in the Governor’s Summer ChalleNGe 2024 pilot program — the capitalized “NG” a nod to the National Guard — that took place earlier this year. The program merged the state’s summer reading program with a physical education program run by the Guard.

“I’m allowed to give the New Mexico Medal of Merit to people who contribute in a meritorious way to the mission of the guard, and these instructors were a big part of the success of this program,” Aguilar said. “They allowed us to make a difference in these kids’ lives.”

The program had nine instructors, but only six could attend Tuesday’s ceremony. The National Guard is working on plans to award the remaining instructors their medals.

The six in attendance were Phillip Romero, Auburn Manymules, Carlos Martinez, Nadine Oglesby, Craig Hendricks and Campbell. Catalina Valentine, Michelle Bell and Kim Swope weren’t present.

Held at Jimmy Carter Middle School, the challenge lasted six weeks and involved roughly 30 students who met with instructors five days a week to work on their literacy skills. The students were divided into groups of three or four who worked directly with one of the nine instructors.

“In my routine, we would do puzzle building, free writing, and I would let the students choose the books they liked to read,” said Romero, one of the program’s instructors. “It was a bit more enjoyable than just making them do assignments.”

In fellow instructor Oglesby’s group, they incorporated journaling into their routine. “I think each teacher had their own niche and things that worked well with their students,” she said.

In addition to the literacy instruction, students participated in daily fitness exercises and weekly field trips run by the National Guard. The goal of these activities was to push the participants out of their comfort zones.

The combination of literacy classes and off-site trips has contributed to better student outcomes, according to Jennifer LeMarie-Theus, a teacher at Jimmy Carter who oversaw the summer program.

“It’s been making a big change,” she said. “A lot of our kids that were in the program are having fewer behavior and attitude issues, and they feel respect and responsibility in their everyday actions at school.”

Academically, LeMarie-Theus said students are more involved in classroom activities and are less afraid to read out loud in front of others.

Following the medal ceremony inside the gym, students were invited outside to tour two National Guard vehicles parked near the school. Groups of students took turns climbing in and out of the vehicles, stopping occasionally to take photos on their phones.

Standing in the nearby field was Campbell, clutching his newly awarded Medal of Merit. When asked what it meant to receive the unexpected recognition, Campbell promptly replied, “I see the medal as less of a recognition of (the instructors) and more of a recognition of the program and how effective it was. It was just awesome to be a part of it.”