NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is playing a crucial role in the ever-growing "space valley." The southwestern collective of private and governmental agencies is constantly looking for the best minds emerging from colleges and universities to fill a variety of jobs. One of those minds, a University of New Mexico graduate, is on a mission to inspire women just like her to get involved in the space industry. "The recent commercialization of space has allowed for some of those nontraditional people to get involved," said Raven Otero-Symphony, founder of the Space Collegiate Opportunities & Pathways for Excellence, New Mexico (SCOPE-NM). Story continues below Podcast: A closing chapter in Albuquerque’s mysterious Muslim murders Community: PHOTOS: Revamp Route 66 sign program makes progress in Albuquerque Events: What’s happening around New Mexico September 13-19 Otero-Symphony's journey to the stars didn't start in the lab, it started in the music hall. Entering UNM as a music major, she found the mathematic elements of music theory had an unlikely relationship with statistics. But even statistics can be a stretch when talking about space. "For me, I was definitely under the impression that space was astronauts," Otero-Symphony said. However, that paradigm changed for her when she received the prestigious and highly competitive Brooke Owens Fellowship in 2022. Women and gender-minority fellows are offered internships and mentorships in the aerospace field and Otero-Symphony was the first New Mexican to participate. "I got to meet some of my peers in other states and around the world that are doing incredible things. And it also opened up the doors for me to be a part of so many other programs that I now want to pass on to other New Mexicans because I might have been the first New Mexican Brooke Owens fellow, but I don't want to be the last," Otero-Symphony explained. She's now paying it forward by launching SCOPE-NM, an inaugural online cohort that will bring together high school and college students for virtual sessions once a month. "When I got on the scene about a year and a half ago, I wasn't seeing a lot of activity in terms of student involvement. And so SCOPE New Mexico is one of those ways. I'm trying to address that, because the space industry at large is a challenge with the talent pool, and students are ripe for that," said Otero-Symphony. She said that the idea of space being strictly for astronauts and NASA is changing. While they are still a critical component of the space equation, there are a lot more factors in today's orbit. "It's also everything from telecommunications to infrastructure. Right from your phone. The way you get your GPS, to even the origin of athletic shoes, to the way we grow our food, how we design our cities, our transportation, those all have a heavy dependence on space," she said. To fill the gap, she's looking for all walks of life, especially girls like her, who grew up in the backyards of Albuquerque, gazing up at the stars. In the meantime, Otero-Symphony will soon participate as one of 30 global leaders around the world in NASA's Space Apps Challenge, which is an open-source hack-a-thon where everyone from engineers to artists will have access to the mountain of data collected by the space agency over the decades. She said it's all aimed at growing a thriving and inclusive industry in the southwest's "space valley." About New Mexico Frontiers New Mexico is the doorway to the new frontier – leading the way into the future of Aerospace, Bio-science, Renewable Energy, Digital Media and Film, Advanced Manufacturing, and so much more. Join us as Chad Brummett and New Mexico Frontiers profile the movers and shakers from our state who are changing the world. ‘New Mexico Frontiers’ celebrates the enterprising spirit of the state’s businesses, scientists, creators, and entrepreneurs.