SOCORRO, N.M. – New Mexico Tech students Kyle Stark and Arjun Tandon took part in the annual Domenici Public Policy Leadership Conference, culminating a summer-long project focused on national security and immigration issues.

Stark and Tandon and 18 other university students started their preparations over the summer, learning about the guest speakers and this year’s theme. Stark is a Ph.D. student in hydrology and the Graduate Student Association president. Tandon is a senior in mechanical engineering and has served as an office in the Student Government Association.

Hosted by New Mexico State University’s Domenici Institute for Public Policy, the annual conference brings together policymakers, elected official and political experts. This year’s speakers and panelists included Sen. Sam Nunn, N.M. gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce, Congressional candidate Xochitl Torres Small, and political consultant James Carville.

(Pictured at right is Kyle Stark at the Domenici Public Policy Conference).

The student participants were grouped in teams since June. They were assigned a panelist in advance to whom they present questions at the conference. Their summer project was researching their panelists and forming incisive questions related to immigration and national security.

Stark, who completed his bachelor’s at College of William and Mary in Virginia, said the event opened his eyes to the intricacies of immigration policies both in New Mexico and nationwide.

“I learned a lot about the particulars of issues facing New Mexico,” he said. “It was a really good experience to better understand the place that I call home now. World politics is particularly important in New Mexico because we are so close to our southern neighbor. Even things that seem far away like conflicts in the Middle East can be relevant to our leaders in Washington.”

Tandon, a graduate of La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, said the experience overall was very positive. In preparation for the event, he and his teammates researched their panelist and collaborated on documentation.

(Pictured at right is Arjun Tandon at the Domenici Public Policy Conference).

“I thought this conference would be a good way to get New Mexico Tech represented in the larger New Mexico educational community,” he said. “I had a lot of fun. It was intensive work, spending the summer researching public policy.”

The Domenici Student Panelist program is supported again this year by a $10,000 sponsorship from U.S. Bank, which will provide each student panelist with a $250 U.S. Bank Visa gift card and cover the cost of the students’ hotel accommodations in Las Cruces. Students will also participate in an orientation dinner the evening before the conference.

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