Tayeanna Bekise, a junior at Newcomb High School, was named on May 8 as one of twelve students nationwide to receive the 2026 FCCLA National Leadership Conference Scholarship. She is the only student from New Mexico to be selected for this honor this year.
The scholarship recognizes outstanding student leaders and supports their participation in the FCCLA National Leadership Conference, which will take place July 6–10 in Washington, D.C. The award covers travel, lodging, and related expenses for recipients. Bekise earned her spot through a competitive application process that included essays, a resume, a financial need letter, and a virtual interview with the national selection committee.
“It is really an honor to be able to represent my people and the minorities. I get to represent and show that we can have a voice in such a big place like that — that you don’t have to have money, you don’t have to know anybody. You can start from absolutely nothing and just work your way up by showing a person what you can do,” Bekise said.
Bekise noted she is the sole representative from New Mexico among this year’s recipients—who also come from American Samoa, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas. She joined FCCLA earlier this year after connecting with advisor Mrs. Renee Campbell through family ties and quickly became active within the organization. At the state conference in Albuquerque in March she competed in Repurpose and Redesign with her project “Generations Reborn,” sewing slippers out of her father’s old baby blankets for her grandmother.
“My grandma uses those slippers around the house now,” Bekise said. “She shuffles around in them when she’s cooking. It’s really cute.” When notified of her selection during an online interview broadcast on FCCLA’s national YouTube channel she immediately thought of sharing it with family: “I try to keep my family really updated on the things that I’m involved in — things that I’m really proud to be a part of. It’s important to me that they’re updated in my life.”
District staff celebrated Bekise’s achievement as well: “I am a huge fan of Navajo student success,” said Lynn M. Foster-Smith, FCCLA advisor at Kirtland Central High School. “I feel it is a big deal to share and celebrate Ms. Tayeanna Bekise.”
FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) is focused on developing leadership skills among young people nationwide through career-technical education programs.
Central Consolidated School District operates as a public school district serving Shiprock area communities while delivering education from elementary through high school levels; it emphasizes academic programs along with family involvement according to the official website.
