A year-round effort: Title sponsor Nusenda dedicated to community education outreach

Education is at the root of Nusenda Credit Union.

The entity is the title sponsor of the New Mexico State Spelling Bee again.

Nusenda Credit Union has a long-standing history in Albuquerque.

Prior to taking on its new name, the credit union was derived from Albuquerque Public Schools in the early 1930s.

A year-round effort: Title sponsor Nusenda dedicated to community education outreach

It’s also why Amanda Reyes, director of financial capability, feels at home with the company.

Reyes is one of the staff members that creates the educational outreach for the community.

As a certified educator, it’s important for her to hit all the avenues within education. It’s a role she’s been in since 2020.

“I actually came to Nusenda from the education world,” Reyes says. “I came here to build a curriculum, train teachers and work with students. I’m a certified, licensed teacher here in New Mexico. There’s actually two of us on staff. We are highly engaged to partner with community organizations and how we can fit in all of those different spaces.”

Reyes says being involved in the spelling bee is another way Nusenda reaches out to the community.

“I have done more of the school based spelling bees, because I was a classroom educator for many, many years, and then I was an administrator,” she says. “At the school level, it is so exciting. It’s so fun to participate in individual classrooms. It’s so fun bringing in individual community members to help judge the spelling bee. Several years ago, I actually went to the State Spelling Bee, which is one of those things that really celebrates and highlights a passion area for certain students. Not everybody loves spelling bees. But it allows those students who are really interested in that space, to study and to be celebrated. And it’s a really supportive environment, where any student who is participating gets celebrated by families and participants.”

Nusenda’s educational outreach is a year-round effort.

One of those efforts is with Las Cruces Public Schools, Doña Ana Community College (DACC) and Nusenda, which have collaborated to offer a course that teaches students about banking in today’s economy and career pathways in the financial services industry.

Reyes says after completing the course, high school students are eligible to apply for an internship, where they can earn college credit and pay, while learning on the job as a Nusenda intern.

Nusenda also has a similar program with Albuquerque Public Schools and Central New Mexico Community College that teaches basic personal finance.

“Our dual credit classes are really focused on the local school districts and the community colleges, because it’s a partnership,” she says. “Everything we do is sustained year-round. Whether we’re teaching students or building curriculum, we are also partnering with the public education department to jumpstart New Mexico to support the humanities convening in June to train teachers. We’re in a space where we hope to both mentor and lead, and then also hear back from the community. One of the things we tell our students is, ‘I want you to succeed, but I need to know what you need and what you’re interested in.’ We do the same thing with our community partners in our schools.”