Grateful alumnus creates first undergraduate fellowship in Department of Economics
January 9, 2024 - Geneva Sandoval
Since 1917, the Department of Economics has provided its students with a rich interdisciplinary education focused on increasing wellbeing in the face of challenging factors. Now, one of its alumni is giving back with the department’s very first undergraduate research fellowship dedicated to fostering research into the critical issues that impact a community’s ability to excel. 
The Ryan and Brandi Mummert Research Fellowship in Economics was created by Ryan Mummert, a 1996 graduate of the Department of Economics, and his wife, Brandi. Their gift is not only intended to support undergraduate students in their research efforts, but also serves as a tribute to a special faculty member who made a profound impact on Ryan when he was a student.
As a student, Ryan completed an honors thesis with Professor Bob Berrens. Berrens’ guidance combined with the fact that Ryan was fortunate to complete his education with the support of an athletic scholarship, inspired the Mummerts to create this fellowship.
Ryan reflects on the impact his experience as a student had on his professional success, saying, "Brandi and I wanted to find a way of expressing gratitude to the department that played a crucial role in propelling me from college life to my professional life."
He continues, “My work with Professor Berrens went beyond the work on the thesis. He encouraged me to work just as hard on the paper as I worked on the football field. He demanded more from me than I would have for myself.”
The first recipient of the Mummert’s fellowship is Celeste Lucero, an Indigenous environmental advocate. Lucero is working with her mentor, Professor Jingjing Wang–current Associate Director of the Water Resources Program–, as a research assistant for Wang’s urban water management project. The project is a collaboration with Albuquerque’s local water utility, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, and partially funded by a State of New Mexico Legislative Research Grant.
Wang says that the fellowship is providing Celeste with the valuable opportunity to get firsthand experience in research, “Celeste is assisting in the project by searching for and batching available weather data. She has created grouped sets of available personal weather station data from 2010 to present that greatly increase the efficiency of data collection. Her work is thorough, detailed, and a valuable part of this ongoing research.”
Lucero will graduate in Spring 2024 with honors for a BA in economics and a BS in environmental science. Her passion for the environment has previously awarded her with a Udall Foundation Scholarship and the Native American Congressional Internship that allowed her the opportunity to work with the House Committee on Natural Resources. Lucero was also a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar at the University of Washington and a fellow for Leaders for Change.
Now, as a Mummert Fellow, Lucero says, “This fellowship is my first opportunity to apply my learned economics skills outside of the classroom. Being the inaugural recipient of the Mummert fellowship is truly an honor.”
Lucero is also able to apply her passion for policy that is deeply rooted in Native culture to her work as a lobbyist assistant. In this role, she tracks legislative bills affecting New Mexico Tribes.
For Lucero, this work is deeply personal, saying, “I am from the Pueblo of Isleta, just south of Albuquerque. Since time immemorial, my Pueblo has lived in unison with the Earth. Isleta learned how to grow crops and support a community from the river... As we face water scarcity, it is not something one community can tackle alone; it involves working together and acknowledging our interconnectedness...The relationships between the community and water and its impact should guide our decisions and actions to protect water. I hope to influence Albuquerque’s water rate structure to reflect a healthy symbiotic relationship.”
Upon her graduation, Lucero plans to pursue a master's in economics and a juris doctorate so that she can continue to advocate for Tribal public policy and environmental justice.
“Receiving this fellowship, I hope to apply my learned skills of building a dataset and creating models to my passion for water economics...This fellowship is foundational to my future career path” she says.
Wang finds that opportunities such as the Mummert Fellowship are foundational to the success of students like Lucero, saying, “I believe that students learn economics best by being involved in economic research. Engaging students in undergraduate research experiences...has been shown to increase students’ science identity and their likelihood of persistence in higher education.”
This is exactly why the Mummerts created this opportunity for undergraduate students in economics. Ryan’s experiences as a student helped support him in his career, where he is now the Executive and Family Wealth Director at Morgan Stanley.
The Mummerts are Lobos through and through, which is evidenced by their deep commitment to the University as alumni. Ryan has served as a board member and chair of the UNM Letterman’s Association, the Lobo Club, and the UNM Board of Trustees.
He was also selected as the 2021 Alumnus of the Year by the Department of Economics and was most recently honored with the department’s 2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award. While Brandi earned her degree in business and accounting in Boston, she serves on the board of Popejoy Hall and the President’s Club Advisory Committee.
Their dedication to future alumni is reflected through this fellowship, which they intend to provide "opportunities to other students while also helping the great research of the department. We hope this fellowship gives students the ability to learn, collaborate and launch them into their future careers.”
For the Mummerts, these experiences have had a profound ripple effect, as Ryan reflects on his time at UNM, “I always remember the time on the football field, time with friends, and my overall experience at UNM. It was a life-changing experience that has been a blessing in my life then and continues to be a blessing in the lives of my family now.”
