Taking New Mexico Talent to the National Stage

After CDC, 29 JAG-NM youth were eligible to compete at the 2026 National Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City, with 27 attending from all seven JAG-NM sites. Students used feedback from CDC judges to strengthen their knowledge, sharpen their presentations, and improve their competition materials before representing New Mexico nationally.

We are proud to celebrate four students who earned national recognition:

• Davian from Cibola High School: 1st Place, Financial Literacy. The Financial Literacy competition challenges students to demonstrate their understanding of real-world financial topics and how those concepts apply to everyday decisions.

• Jasmine, Oscar, and Alyssa from Rio Grande High School — 3rd Place, L.O.V.E. Project.  Their project helped carry community-focused work around unhoused communities from the state level to the national stage.

Our young people got the chance to meet students from across the country, connect with national partners, participate in workshops, and experience career exploration on a larger scale. The conference also included first-time experiences for New Mexico youth like traveling out of state, flying, and seeing how their JAG skills compared with students from across the country.

The Rio Grande team connected with a L.O.V.E. Project group from Kentucky. The two student groups and their Specialists are now exploring ways to learn from each other and expand their community work. Incredibly fitting as the project is abbreviated for Lifting Our Voices for Equity - and that's exactly what these young people are doing.

The best parts of the conference in their words:

“Networking and seeing all the other people who are competing just as serious and excited as I was. It felt like a room full of logic and knowledge with a deep understanding of JAG skills and qualities.”

“Overall I met a lot of new people! I made great friends...The pin trading really brought us together and the party really set new friendships.”

NCDC elevated the learning that began at CDC. Youth were able to compete, network, explore careers, and see themselves as part of a national community of young leaders preparing for what comes next.