When the NMSU Homecoming parade winds down University Avenue this fall, a familiar face will once again bring the Aggie spirit to life. Kit Milam-Elliott ’62 ’63, a lifelong volunteer, disaster response nurse and devoted alumna, will be among the volunteers decorating the Alumni trolley, a tradition that reflects her deep connection to her alma mater.
For Kit, Homecoming is more than a celebration. It is a homecoming in the truest sense of the word.
“It’s a happy time,” she said. “People are laughing and sharing. It’s all contagious silliness. No one knows a stranger, no matter what years they attended.”
Long before she decorated the Homecoming trolley carrying recipients of NMSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award, Young Alumni Service Award and James F. Cole Memorial Award for Service, Kit’s Aggie spirit took root during her student days in Las Cruces.
Determined to earn her degree, Kit worked her way through college with scholarships and four part-time jobs. She worked in the campus cafeteria, served as a departmental secretary, was a resident assistant and spent summers in the snack bar. Despite the demanding schedule, she graduated with bachelor’s degrees in English, Spanish and education, and later pursued a degree in nursing. In 2021, she was named the Distinguished Alumni Award recipient for the College of Arts and Sciences for her accomplishments.
But college taught her more than academics. “It was a time to make choices and learn about yourself, your standards, your strengths and weaknesses,” she said.
She remembers professors and administrators who took a personal interest in the students and offered encouragement when it was needed most. She found joy in singing with the university chorus under Oscar Butler’s direction, hearing the Goddard Hall chimes echo across campus in the evenings, and participating in sorority life and student government. “The sorority provided friendships and support, plus lessons in teamwork and leadership,” she said. Those lessons would inspire a lifetime of service.
Over the decades, Kit devoted her career to helping others through the New Mexico Disaster Assistant Team (DMAT), the American Red Cross, the New Mexico Medical Reserve Corps, Healing the Children medical missions, and countless disaster response deployments. She answered the call during some of the nation’s most challenging moments, including Hurricane Katrina, the Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along the way, she learned a lesson passed down from her great-grandmother: The purpose of life is a life of purpose. “Making a difference in someone’s life is an important part of that purpose,” Kit said. “It’s probably one of the biggest rewards.” For her decades of service, she was awarded the James F. Cole Memorial Award for Service, the NMSU Foundation’s highest honor, in 1973.
Her experiences have been profound, heartbreaking and humbling. Whether caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors arriving by helicopter in Louisiana or helping families affected by 9/11 navigate unimaginable loss, each deployment strengthened her understanding of compassion and service.
“We don’t choose to serve or help others,” she said. “We are chosen.”
Today, that commitment to serving others continues closer to home as she helps care for her husband and brother, both of whom are living with Alzheimer’s disease. “Serving others helps me adjust and accept my present state in life,” she said. “It takes sacrifice and knowledge of self.”
Yet through every chapter of Kit’s life, NMSU has remained a constant. She recalls visits across the continent where Aggie connections appeared in the most unexpected places. Once, during a medical mission to Guatemala, four of the 10 volunteers turned out to be NMSU alumni.
During Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in New York, she became fast friends with a fellow New Mexican after sharing the friendly rivalry between Lobos and Aggies. Even in Louisiana following Katrina, she found an instant connection with a student from Ruidoso. “Once an Aggie, always an Aggie,” she said. 
That sense of belonging is one reason Homecoming remains so special. Walking across campus, Kit enjoys revisiting familiar landmarks while seeing the changes that have reshaped the university over the decades. Buildings that once served as residence halls now house museums. The places may look different, but the feeling remains the same.
“It’s a time to remember the good and forget the challenges we had,” she said. She remembers being a student and having to work during Homecoming, so she couldn’t share in the festivities. “Now I have the joy of participating from start to finish.”
And while she admits she is not the biggest football fan, there’s one Homecoming tradition she never tires of. “I love halftime with the Pride of New Mexico Marching Band,” she said. “They are still thrilling to watch and hear.”
When asked what it means to be an Aggie today, Kit’s answer is simple: “Family,” she said. “We’re always welcomed.”
During Homecoming, that sense of family will be on full display. And thanks to dedicated volunteers like Kit Milam-Elliott, the traditions that unite generations of Aggies will continue rolling forward.
For information on events for Homecoming 2026, visit: alwaysanaggie.org/events/homecoming-2026