Las Cruces Student To Represent New Mexico At White House

LAS CRUCES – As a part of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, Hillrise Elementary School fifth-grade student Emma Kenney, 9, the daughter of Tammie and Matt Kenney of Las Cruces, was recently chosen to represent New Mexico in Washington, D.C.

The contest invited students ages eight-12 from across the United States to submit an original recipe for a healthy meal. More than 1,200 children submitted recipes and a winner was selected from each state. Emma’s Chicken Wraps with Mango Salsa was chosen as the top recipe from New Mexico.

Emma and her mother will travel to the nation’s capital August 20, 2012, where they will join First Lady Michelle Obama and 54 other students at the White House for a “Kid’s State Dinner.”

“What a honor to be chosen to represent New Mexico at the first-ever ‘Kid's "State Dinner’,” said Hillrise Elementary Principal Cindy Baker. “We know Emma will be the perfect ambassador for our great state and the City of Las Cruces. We wish her well in her travels to the nation's capital and look forward to her return where she will be starting her last year at Hillrise Elementary. As a fifth grader and student leader, Emma will be given the opportunity to share her life-changing experience. and, I hope, be a positive influence for others,” she said.

The contest was a partnership with Epicurious.com and the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture.