This week at the New Mexico State University campus, nine UNM students will attend the Domenici Public Policy Conference, where they will present questions to each speaker.

Students from NMSU, UNM, ENMU, New Mexico Tech, and Western New Mexico University worked together this summer and developed questions for each speaker at the upcoming conference.

The speakers for this year’s conference include former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, and former U.S. Ambassador to Syria and Algeria Robert Ford.

Nineteen students were chosen to participate by faculty and administrators at their schools and by the committee of the Domenici Institute’s Advisory Council.

Jenna Hagengruber, a Senior at UNM and president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM), said, “This conference is a way for me to hone in more specifically on policy that is regarding infrastructure, economic development, and education as a whole, and I could not be more excited.”

Hagengruber is majoring in English and philosophy and plans on being the Secretary of Education for New Mexico in the future, writing education policy as a career. She says that she has been actively involved in student government from a young age and as ASUNM President, she spends much of her time working on policy regarding UNM and higher education.

“One of the esteemed leaders I have the chance to sit on the panel for is Jim Hunt, who changed the face of education in North Carolina, as well as in our nation. My enthusiasm for the knowledge I will gain during this brief two-day conference is beyond imaginable,” she said.

John Barany, an economics major, explained what kind of an opportunity this is for him as well. “I think, to me, this conference represents an opportunity to get involved in actual issues that are effecting our country today. We have the opportunity to learn from some major players in American politics.

The Domenici Student Panelist Program received a $10,000 sponsorship from U.S. Bank, giving each student participant a $250 U.S. Bank Visa gift card to cover their traveling and hotel costs.

For more information about the conference visit domenici.nmsu.edu