Terry Lynn Aragon, born in 1960 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, is a 15th-generation New Mexican with a heritage dating back to the earliest Spanish settlers and Native American integration in the Rio Grande Valley. Her ancestors include a diverse array of trailblazers: conquistadors, friars, settlers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, veterans, and statesmen. Terry upholds this legacy by contributing to the well-being of her community.

 

Raised in Albuquerque, she began her education in a Head Start pilot program, continuing through public schools and eventually working as a telephone installer for Mountain Bell Telephone Company. Following layoffs due to AT&T's divestiture from its Bell operating companies, Terry, a single mother, sought further education while raising her children and working multiple jobs. She excelled in a Medical Laboratory Technologies program at PIMA Medical Institute, earning her degree and ASCP certification in 1996. Terry has worked in various medical and environmental laboratory roles, earning two New Mexico State certifications in wastewater.

 

After some time in Arizona, she returned to New Mexico, driven by her love for the state, and took a position with the Town of Bernalillo's Public Works Department, where she oversees the wastewater laboratory. Terry, a mother to five and grandmother to 11, with four great-grandchildren, is a role model of resilience and dedication to her family and public service. Her commitment to maintaining New Mexico's cultural heritage is evident as she steps into the political arena, seeking to protect and preserve the values and lifestyle of her fellow New Mexicans against any forces that threaten to undermine them.