Barbara Trujillo is Delta Lambda Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi’s 2025 Woman of the Year.
Barbara Ann Trujillo is this year’s Delta Lambda Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi 2025 Woman of the Year. Barbara was born December 11, 1961 in Clayton, New Mexico. She was the fourth of five daughters born to Felix and Eloise Trujillo. When Barbara was just two weeks old, the family moved to Hugoton – the community that would become her lifelong home.
Barbara graduated from Hugoton High School in 1980 and went on to attend Washburn University, where she earned her teaching
degree and later her Master’s Degree in Administration Education. She began her career in education teaching in Harlingen, Tx. before
returning home to Hugoton in 1994 to teach and coach at Hugoton Middle School. Over the years, Barbara taught English as a Second Language, worked with students at the Hugoton Learning Academy, and coached eighth grade boys’ basketball. She also coached high school girls’ volleyball in Hugoton. Barbara retired from teaching in 2023 after nearly three decades of dedicated service.
Barbara’s influence as an educator has been profound. Many of the Spanish-speaking students she once taught have gone on to
become successful, contributing members of the community – two own restaurants, several are teachers, two work at a local bank, and one serves as a security guard at a correctional facility. Barbara is deeply proud of the role she played in helping these students become responsible, accomplished adults.
Beyond the classroom, Barbara coached a women’s softball team named Peachey and Peachey, demonstrating her passion for teamwork and community involvement.
In addition to her work in education, Barbara has been a dedicated member of the Hugoton District 1 Cemetery staff since 1998. In 2023, she became the Sexton, a role she approaches with the utmost respect and care. She takes pride in ensuring the cemetery is well maintained and presentable for all occasions, especially Memorial Day. One of her most meaningful contributions was assisting a family in securing a Veterans Marker for a soldier who had been a prisoner of war – a task that held special significance as the soldier’s grandmother was a close family friend.
Barbara has also served the Hugoton community as a school bus driver since 2012. Even after retiring from teaching in 2023, her dedication to students continued she returned in January 2024 to continue driving a bus and supporting the school district’s transportation needs.
Her hard work and careful saving have allowed Barbara to pursue one of her greatest passions: travel. She has participated in numerous Education First (EF) tours and visited many destinations around the globe, including Australia, Fiji, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and New Zealand. She has also traveled extensively throughout Europe, visiting Italy, France, Germany, Greece, and Spain, as well as Morocco in Africa. Of all fifty U.S. states, Alaska remains the only one she has yet to explore.
Family has always been at the heart of Barbara’s life. She is very close to her parents and sisters, and at the present time she helps her mother care for her father, with the support of her sisters. As her father is no longer able to care for the family yard, Barbara has lovingly taken on that responsibility. She is always willing to help her family whenever possible, showing the same dedication and compassion at home that she has throughout her career. And when Barbara is ready for an adventure, all she has to say is, “Fish, let’s go to___,” and Felicia is always ready to join her.
Throughout her life, Barbara Ann Trujillo has embodied dedication, compassion, and service. Whether teaching and mentoring students, coaching, maintaining sacred spaces, caring for her parents, or driving a bus, she has consistently given her best to the Hugoton community and those she loves. Her legacy is one of lifelong commitment – to education, to family, to service, and to the many lives she has touched.
Congratulations Barbara.