Without further ado, the 2025 Louie Awards go to…
July 30, 2025
3D-printed awards made aquí en Taos
With no intention of brushing off “participation” trophies and ribbons as insignificant, receiving a physical acknowledgement of hard work and unwavering dedication in the adult world, however, starts with serious competition and ends with just a few winners.
The UNM Louie Awards, hosted by the UNM Division of Student Affairs (DSA) in Albuquerque, are a highly coveted honor given to individuals and departments within the DSA for their outstanding contributions and service. Specifically, the awards recognize individuals for their dedication and impact on students, as well as excellence in assessment, employee performance, and leadership.
The Louie Awards encompass several categories. What we’re most interested in is the UNM Staff Leader of the Pack, which recognizes outstanding staff members who make significant contributions to the DSA. Our Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, Ale Villalobos Melendez, who keeps racking up the accolades, has another much-deserved award to display after the “surprise” of being named this year’s recipient.
“I am truly grateful to have been nominated and recognized alongside dedicated colleagues across the university,” Ale said humbly. “It is a privilege to contribute to initiatives that support the well-being and success of our students. I have especially enjoyed the collaboration with the ACHA (American College Health Association) Wellness Assessment research team and the Thrive Food and Resource Center software implementation project. These efforts would not be possible without the commitment and partnership of the Student Affairs team, and I am thankful for the opportunity to work alongside such thoughtful and mission-driven professionals.”
The annual awards are typically presented during a themed ceremony. This year’s June celebration, titled “Lobos in the New Millennium,” made a brief lunar landing then set a course toward the stars—Student Affairs’ brightest. For the first time, this year’s award—named “Moonlouie”—was created in Taos by a Lobo.
3D Printing Program Lead and Instructor Alex Simeti received an email just before the end of the last semester inquiring whether students could design and print this year's Louie award for Main campus. His students were busy focusing on their end-of-semester workloads, so Alex stepped up.
“The idea was simple,” he said. “An award needed to be created that was reminiscent of the iconic MTV [Video] Music Awards, with a UNM twist.”
He received a 3D printable file of last year's Louie award. With that in hand, Alex searched around the internet and found a 3D printable file of the MTV award statue.
“There was much augmentation needed to the MTV award file,” he explained. “I basically deleted everything besides the astronaut's body. I recreated the flag and flagpole, putting the UNM logo on the flag. I also recreated the base to have one foot of the astronaut standing on the UNM logo instead of the MTV logo. Then, I went into Blender and took the head off of last year’s Louie award and fit it over the head of the astronaut. With some tweaking, it ended up being a perfect fit.”
Then, the printer got to work. There was some trial and error involved in the process, as the first few Alex printed kept failing. He worked the bugs out and printed seven Moonlouies in a silver 3D printing filament at his shop, . Each one took 11 hours to print.
After being sent to Albuquerque, the awards were mounted on wooden blocks fashioned with engraved plaque plates.
Louie Award Winners 2025
Amazing Assessment
Graeme Nicholl, Program Coordinator, Dean of ůůֱ²¥ Office
Howling Best Employee
Gourdin, Student Success Specialist, African American Student Services
Lobo Star Student Employee
Liliana Spurgeon, Student Health & Counseling
Outstanding Pack
Community Engagement Center
Student Affairs Cub
Megann Roszak, Student Activities Advisor, Student Activities Center
UNM Faculty Leader of the Pack
Dr. Assata Zerai, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion
UNM Staff Leader of the Pack
Alejandra Villalobos Melendez, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, UNM-Taos
UNM Staff Leader of the Pack Award Criteria
Staff member outside the Division of Student Affairs, who performs tasks beyond their regularly assigned duties that significantly enhance some aspect of student life at UNM.
- Creates a climate for continued improvement in the student body, affecting most members of the student body; or
- Works on activities with a group of students, including special interest organizations; or
- Goes above and beyond their duties to help students succeed.
Ale was “sadly” unable to pick up her Taos-made award at the event because she was attending the HACU International Symposium. In a congratulatory email, UNM Associate Dean of Student Well-Being Greg Golden wrote, “We love working with you, Ale! You have great perspective and are driven to the same important work that excites so many of us. Thank you for your efforts!”
Dr. Eric Scott, UNM vice president for Student Affairs, conveyed to Ale, “It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to collaborate with you and the team on well-being work and I’m so glad that you were nominated and awarded the Louie award honor. As our collaborations and relationships grow stronger, motivated partners like you are invaluable as changemakers and exemplars for others.”
While all of that is true, Main campus can’t have her. Ale looks forward to continuing collaboration with the Student Affairs team in service of equitable student success.
“I’m honored to support efforts that strengthen student well-being and basic needs services,” Ale said. “Data is a powerful tool for equity and change, and I’m proud to contribute my data and research skills to help Student Affairs colleagues deepen their understanding and implement practical, student-centered solutions. Collaborating across campuses has been deeply rewarding, and I look forward to continuing to be a member of the teams working to expand our understanding of student wellness and mental health, while contributing to impactful projects such as implementing essential software at the Thrive Food and Resource Center and across other UNM campuses.”