The Rainosek family with Jeff Todd, president and CEO of the UNM Foundation.

By Michelle G. McRuiz

For half a century, UNM’s Presidential Scholarship Program (PSP) has invested in identifying, supporting, and retaining New Mexico talent by offering renewable scholarships to extraordinary high school students from every county in the state.

The program has grown into one of the university’s most defining investments in student success and talent development. That investment is made possible in large part by generous donors who make annual gifts and create endowments to support PSP.

Each full Sponsor can be matched with a Presidential Scholar and has multiple opportunities to meet and connect with them.

This unique structure makes the Presidential Scholarship something larger than a source of financial aid. While reducing financial stress allows students to focus fully on their studies, the program functions as an intentional partnership among the university, donors, and Scholars themselves.

Together, that partnership creates a powerful model of shared investment in New Mexico’s future. Sustained support gives students the freedom to explore academic and professional paths they might otherwise never consider—and helps ensure that exceptional talent can grow, contribute, and lead close to home.

A Natural Choice

A thread of continuity runs through the PSP: Many PSP donors once were Presidential Scholars themselves. Mark Rainosek, BS ’87, MD ’92, is one such donor. For him, giving to UNM has been a family tradition. His parents, Dorothy and Larry Rainosek, are longtime donors and the owners of two perennially popular Albuquerque eateries, Frontier Restaurant and Golden Pride BBQ, Chicken, & Ribs. They inspired Mark, an anesthesiologist who practices in Albuquerque and Anchorage, Alaska, to help New Mexico students succeed.

The Rainosek family have been longtime supporters of the Presidential Scholarship program and UNM.

“Education has always been important in my family,” Mark says. “And UNM has a solid, respectable reputation.”

When Mark finished his residency at the UNM School of Medicine, he decided to give back to UNM as a PSP Sponsor.

“It was a natural choice because I was a Presidential Scholar myself,” he says. “I wanted to invest in my community to help those people who can’t get through school on their own. And it helps keep New Mexico’s brightest young people in the state.”

Over time, PSP has grown in both reach and ambition, supporting generations of high-achieving students while building a powerful community of alumni and donors committed to New Mexico’s future.

More Than Medicine

Mark has supported many Presidential Scholars over the years, including through the newly created PSP Graduate Award. One of his current undergraduate Scholars, Ankit Jaiswal, is a senior in the BA/MD program, a rigorous eight-year curriculum that puts students on a pathway from undergraduate education to the UNM School of Medicine.

“Education has always been important in my family, and UNM has a solid, respectable reputation.”

“The program’s mission is to address the healthcare shortage in rural and underserved areas of New Mexico, and to find students who are dedicated to helping New Mexicans,” Ankit says.

Ankit always had been interested in medicine, particularly surgery, but his undergraduate curriculum in health, medicine, and human values opened his eyes to community and global health.

“It looks at health through a broader lens,” he says. “It’s about social determinants of health, lifestyle factors, health policy—all the things that make up a person’s health. My BA program has motivated me to explore other ways to impact health in addition to treating a person.”

Ankit graduates with his BA in Spring 2026 and will enter medical school in July. He’s already racked up some impressive credentials at UNM. In addition to maintaining a 4.0 GPA, he won the Anderson School of Business Tech Navigator challenge two years in a row with his designs for a helmet that monitors concussions in real time and an injectable, expandable foam that can be used for emergency hemorrhage control.

The Rainosek family with a group of Presidential Scholarship Program recipients at the Frontier Restaurant.

In 2024, Ankit spent six months in South America, shadowing and observing physicians as they worked to implement telemedicine programs in rural areas. He also accompanied nursing staff on visits to low-income households and spoke about telemedicine in local media.

“That work was an amazing experience,” says Ankit.

“In those parts of the world, people don’t know much about telemedicine. I got to be part of starting a rural telemedicine program and convincing people to adopt it.”

Motivated to Give Back

Another highlight of Ankit’s undergraduate program was meeting his PSP donor, Dr. Mark Rainosek.

“It was awesome to find out that Dr. Rainosek was my donor because he’s an anesthesiologist,” he says.

“He works in Alaska a lot, helping rural communities, so our interests are aligned. He has been a great role model for me by investing in UNM students and being interested in hearing our stories. That speaks a lot about his character.”

Being a Presidential Scholar not only eliminated Ankit’s undergraduate financial burden; it opened new academic and professional vistas.

“I was not forced to make decisions based on income or job stability; I could focus on growing through research and community work. My Presidential Scholarship allowed me to take risks and explore things like business and global travel that otherwise I would not have done.”

As Ankit looks ahead to medical school, he feels excited and self-assured. UNM’s supportive environment has helped him connect with mentors and step into leadership roles. That confidence has sparked a desire in Ankit to pay it forward—through medicine and philanthropy.

“I’m proud of being a Presidential Scholar,” Ankit says. “Knowing that Dr. Rainosek believed in me motivates me to continue building. I want to become a PSP donor one day and help motivate future generations.”

PSP Graduate Award Now in Second Year

The Presidential Scholarship Program began offering graduate scholarships two years ago. Their first Graduate Award Scholar, Maya Dawson, BA ’21, MS ’25, is pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at UNM.

“Presidential Scholarship donors made it possible for me to attend a university close to my family and make invaluable connections with members of the New Mexico community,” says Maya. “I’m grateful to continue living and learning in the place I call home. And I’m very excited to continue with my Ph.D. with Dr. Olivia Lanier’s Nanomedicine Toward Health Equity Lab.”