They see a need and meet it. They hear a cry and answer it. The six extraordinary faculty members on these pages devote long hours to community projects that directly aid other individuals, from children to the elderly, from people lost in the wilderness to those lost in society.

These faculty, however, are not unique among the university's employees, students and alumni. Countless others, many of them people you know, find time to make contributions as community leaders, donors and volunteers. They take to heart NMSU's service mission and make it a lifelong goal. So to every Aggie who helps improve the human condition: Thank you. We honor you. Keep up the good work.

The gift of hope

Nancy McMillan, '79, left, and Nancy Baker

It all started when Nancy McMillan, '79, marked the "proposal writing" box for her church's talent bank. The NMSU geology professor never imagined in the next eight years she would help build Community of Hope, an alliance of non-profit agencies addressing the needs of the poor and homeless in Las Cruces, and a new building to house them. Community of Hope is an agency of its own and an administrative umbrella for Hacienda

del Sol transitional housing facility, El Caldito soup kitchen, St. Luke's Health Care Clinic, Closet de Mesilla Valley clothing bank, Casa de Peregrinos food bank, Jardin de los Ninos child care center and Community Action Agency, which provides weatherization assistance, AIDS programs and other services.

Community of Hope would not exist without McMillan's strong efforts and, in her words, "pig-headed stubbornness." She saw a need to reduce duplication and fragmentation in services, and worked to combine them like a shopping mall, allowing agencies to work together more seamlessly.

One of Community of Hope's founders, McMillan was board president from 1991 to 1997. She wrote grants, attended city council meetings, raised money and pushed the project to completion. Along the way she gained skills in analytical thinking, leadership, public speaking, proposal writing and networking. "I'm the big winner," she said. "I learned more than I ever gave out."

And before leaving her "third baby," she recruited friend and colleague Nancy Baker. An NMSU government professor, Baker is in her second year as head of Hacienda del Sol's board, having joined in 1997.

The facility's staff work with homeless women and families, helping them set goals to attain permanent housing. The shelter can accommodate nine families, and offers parenting and GED classes, parties, activities and child care for residents.

"I felt it was time to give back to the community," Baker said. "I think many faculty feel that way, but they may not realize there are places where their energy and commitment can make a major difference."

To keep up with Community of Hope through their newsletters, call (505) 523-2219. Also watch for details about Chocolate Fantasia, an elegant evening of chocolate and champagne, at Picacho Hills Country Club Feb. 5. The event, featuring a chocolate dessert competition between local chefs, will raise money for Hacienda del Sol.

Rachel Kendall

Elder Voices

Kevin McIlvoy

English professor Kevin McIlvoy, NMSU's 1999 winner of the Westhafer award, the university's highest faculty honor, is on sabbatical leave, promoting his latest novel, Hyssop, and drafting a novel-in-progress. He's also pursing a dream - that of establishing free writing classes for people over 55 at senior citizens centers throughout New Mexico. McIlvoy believes that just about every community harbors elder writers of memoirs, fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and that those voices deserve to be heard. In Las Cruces, he has taught a writing class as a volunteer at the Munson Senior Citizens Center for 17 years. NMSU's Serape anthology grew out of that labor of love.

The novelist prizes the time he spends with older authors because "I learned long ago that the writers who have the most to teach us are writers with many years of life experience." McIlvoy plans to get several senior center writing classes off to a good start and find local writers to continue to lead them. So far, two graduates of NMSU's creative writing master's program have volunteered. Eileen Patterson, '91, leads a new class at the Betty Ehart Center in Los Alamos. Eva McCollaum, '92, will instruct writers at the Roswell Joy Senior Center.

McCollaum, who teaches English at Roswell Goddard High School, says she is looking forward to working with older people "who are there by choice and want to become better writers."

The two NMSU graduates have another reason for joining McIlvoy in the community project: like many of his former students, they say they owe him a lifelong debt for inspiring them to write and publish their own work.

Rita A. Popp, '93

Bear Care

Becky Keele

Becky Keele has been using teddy bears for the last 13 years to help teach preschoolers the basics of health care. Keele, an assistant nursing professor at NMSU since 1996, oversees the Teddy Bear Clinic and its army of nursing students. As part of the Community Health Nursing program, Keele and students enrolled in her family-centered nursing clinical go to area preschools and teach children about health care using the stuffed bruins as patients. The children play the role of nurse and use real stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs to examine their furry patients. "Our goal with the kids is health promotion," Keele said. "It's very important for our students to dress and act like nurses. It allows

children to see health professionals in a non-threatening environment, and that helps alleviate their fears and anxieties when they enter the health care system."

During the clinic, the NMSU nursing students describe procedures to the children and explain why doctors and nurses perform examinations. The students also explain the basics of first aid, exercise (bear-aerobics) and safety, and the importance of a healthy diet and personal hygiene.

Participation in the Teddy Bear Clinic is a requirement for all of Keele's nursing students. Besides offering practical experience, the clinic is a lesson in community service. And Keele serves as a role model for nursing students who are close to embarking on their own careers.

"I think all faculty should participate in community service," Keele said. "It's very rewarding, and it feels like we always get more out of it than what we put in."

"When our students see us working in the community, they're more likely to understand the value of volunteering their time when they become health care professionals."

Dan Trujillo, '92

Skilled Searchers

Steve Stochaj and Nancy Chanover, '97, with Roxy and new addition, Phoebe

More often than not, the call comes in the dead of night. A hiker is missing. A hunter is lost. An Alzheimer's patient has wandered from home. NMSU's Nancy Chanover, '97, and Steve Stochaj are prepared to pull on their hiking boots and grab their backpacks. Even readier for action is their Labrador retriever Roxy. You might say Roxy decided for them, back in 1996, that they should become Search and Rescue volunteers. "We both like the outdoors and we wanted to do something service-oriented for the community," said

Stochaj, director of NMSU's R.L. Golden Particle Astrophysics Laboratory and a faculty member in electrical and computer engineering. "And this could involve our dog, which made it all the better."

Now, with more than 20 search missions and countless hours of training behind them, they are veteran members of Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue's dog team. The experience "is really rewarding," said Chanover, who got her doctorate in astronomy at NMSU and is a college assistant professor in the astronomy department.

Most satisfying, of course, are the missions with happy endings. "You expect to touch people's lives when you find somebody alive and bring them back," Stochaj said. But even when the subject of a search is deceased, the work has its rewards.

Such was the case in one early spring mission in the Gila National Forest. A suicide note had been found in the missing person's car, but heavy winter snowfalls had delayed a thorough search for months. "That's typically a sad kind of search, but this man's family had accepted that he was dead and they wanted some closure," Stochaj said. "They were really appreciative when we found him."

A recent mission was closer to home in more ways than one. Two NMSU graduate students were climbing in the Organ Mountains when one fell and was injured. "Roxy was the first one to reach him," Stochaj said.

As search dogs are trained to do, Roxy returned to her handler to alert him to the find, then went back to the victim. Several times she repeated this while the search team struggled through the rugged terrain. Stochaj recalls, "When we got to him, the guy said, "Why didn't you stick a radio on your dog so I could call you?'"

Karl Hill