Attend an American Cancer Society event. I challenge you to do so. Because if you do, you will learn what an incredible event and community that the people who regularly participate in these events have formed. These events are both emotional and physical. They are sad and exciting. They are fun and serious. And all that goes on at these events comes together cohesively.

Last night I attended the Valencia Band-o-Rama concert at Valencia High School. The concert featured performances by Tomé Elementary, Bosque Farms Elementary, Valencia Elementary, Peralta Elementary, Valencia Middle School, and Valencia High School. The point behind this particular concert is March is Music in Our Schools Month, and we celebrate this by putting on a free, community-wide concert to remind people of the value of learning music in school.

Of all the sports that are routinely played in American high schools, basketball is the one I happen to know the most about. And, because of this, I was able to fully appreciate watching our VHS basketball teams play last Saturday against LLHS!

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with the U.S. hosting several professional teams, and most nations in the world hosting a National Team. And, I’m sure that any true soccer fan can list off all the stats of his or her favorite player and team.

From June through November of each year, there are a select group of kids that can be found running (literally, not figuratively!) around town for miles on end. They often run through sand dunes, up hills, and ‘round and ‘round large structures to build their endurance. These kids are members of the Valencia and Los Lunas High School’s Cross-Country teams, and they purposely run through our desert for miles for FUN!

One of the things that I absolutely loved about high school band was getting to sit in the stands with my friends and watch every home game the Los Lunas Tigers played. I loved seeing the community come together to support our team, and to spend time with friends and family. It also helped that my parents, brother, and grandmother were also there supporting me! I have to say, though, that there is nothing like watching a small-town high school team play in their home stadium. Even though we lost more often than we won, the town, the team, and the school all had a great Friday night. 

In 2014, Ms. Casey Hoyt and Ms. Donna Angelus, seeing the importance of STEAM in girls’ futures, planned an executed the first Girl Scout Silver Science event for Girl Scouts in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Event activities included Kool Aid Bottle Rockets, Baking Soda Rockets, Mapping DNA, Film Cannister Rockets, and an introduction to First LEGO League- a group that encourages people to form teams to build a LEGO robot and program it to complete certain tasks before competing to see which team has done the best job each year.

I was a band nerd. I played flute from 6th through 9th grade, and then switched to saxophone for the rest of High School and College. My husband- Justin- was a band nerd- it’s how we met! So, it’s safe to say that band nerds always have, and always will have a special place in my heart. But, it’s much more than that! There is a camaraderie that develops when you’re in band, that I’ve never seen replicated anywhere else.