San Juan College Foundation awards 10 scholarships to NC3 signees

Students from Bloomfield High School, Aztec High School, Farmington High School and Piedra Vista High School were among the San Juan County signees who received $1,000 scholarships from the San Juan College Foundation as the college pushed its 2026 NC3 National Signing Day in Farmington toward welding, nursing and criminal justice.

The college held the event Thursday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Connie Gotsch Theatre at the Henderson Fine Arts Center. It was part of a nationwide NC3 simulcast, and San Juan College said the program is modeled after NCAA National Signing Day, but aimed at students choosing Career Technical Education instead of athletics.

Eligible participants were first-time students planning to enter a CTE program in summer or fall 2026, including high school seniors, high school graduates and GED holders. San Juan College said students who registered and took part were entered into the scholarship drawing and received SJC merchandise, with local industry partners, community leaders, college deans and instructors expected at the event.

The workforce message behind the ceremony was clear. Ten $1,000 awards amount to $10,000 in direct help, a modest pool next to the number of students San Juan College draws into the pipeline and the range of jobs the region says it needs to fill. In 2024, more than 120 students took part in the college’s NC3 signing day, which means the foundation’s ten scholarships reached only a slice of the young people stepping into technical training.

That gap matters in San Juan County, where the college has used signing day to steer students into programs that can lead quickly to local employment. San Juan College has highlighted building trades, auto body, welding, cosmetology, fire science and veterinary technology in past NC3 coverage, while this year’s scholarship focus pointed directly at welding, nursing and criminal justice, fields tied to the county’s day-to-day labor needs.

The college has leaned on financial aid to make that path more realistic. San Juan College says 94% of first-time freshmen receive financial aid, a reminder that the route into technical work often depends on scholarships, grants and other support as much as on motivation.

NC3 says its National Signing Day has run for 13 years and has involved more than 40,000 students nationwide. San Juan College said its 2023 NC3 participation included 74 institutions, and in 2024 the foundation again awarded ten $1,000 scholarships through a random drawing as students from Aztec, Bloomfield, Farmington, Kirtland Central, Piedra Vista and Rocinante joined the celebration, along with students from Colorado. For San Juan College, the event remains less a ceremony than a recruiting tool, meant to keep more of those graduates training, working and living in San Juan County.