Eileen, a legal assistant at Lara Law Firm, who said, “She just blows me away.” Yet Marrs unequivocally credits the strong support of her family as the reason for her success. Born in Carlsbad and raised in a house next door to her grandparents, her family’s roots run deep in the community. Her great-grandfather Vicente G. Valenzuela, and his brother moved to Carlsbad to start the Carlsbad Tortilla Factory. Her grandfather Adon Rodriguez, a former school board president, is currently part of the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard and a member of the Carlsbad Cemetery Board. Her aunt, attorney Roxanne Lara, runs a family law firm, is a former Eddy County Commissioner and ran for Congress in New Mexico’s second congressional district in 2014. Her father Charles is employed by WIPP while her sister Cassie is a chemist with Sandia National Laboratories here in Carlsbad. Growing up in Carlsbad, Marrs’ family instilled in her the same strong work ethic as well as the importance of community involvement. She attended the Early Childhood Education Center, St. Edward’s Catholic School and Carlsbad High School, where she was
enrolled in Advanced Placement classes. According to Marrs, in addition to an emphasis on good grades, her parents insisted that she and her sister be involved in at least two other activities outside of school. “We wanted her to know what was out there and to feel like there is always something to pick to do,” her mother told me. While her sister excelled at sports, she tried out almost every sport but ended up preferring music, learning to play the piano and joining band. “I was too clumsy. In music, there were no balls,” Marrs laughed. In addition, she became involved in numerous church and school organizations, in many cases eventually serving as either the president or vice-president. According to her mother, she worked just as hard in these extracurricular activities as she did in school, including band, MESA, National Honor Society, Innoventure and Key Club, leaving the organization better than when she joined it. Not only was she a Girls State participant, but she was chosen to represent New Mexico for two weeks at the American Legion’s Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. Following her high school graduation, Marrs enrolled at the main campus of UNM. There, in addition to earning her business degree, she became a member of the Golden Key Honor Society, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, an education mentor for the UNM College Prep Program and a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Student Relations Fellow. She was one of nine graduating UNM students chosen for the Clauve Outstanding
Senior Award, which is based on leadership, community involvement and academics. Finally, in a move almost prophetic of her future career in the creative arts, she became the executive director of ASUM Student Special Events for UNM. It was while doing this job that she met one of the members of repel the robot. The rest, as they say, is history. “I wanted an adventure, to move out of my comfort zone,” she admitted, so following graduation, Marrs and her parents packed up a U-Haul with her belongings and she moved to Dallas. Though she is still pursuing those new adventures, she finds the time to touch base with her support group back home. According to her mother, Marrs keeps her updated even when out of the country, and “she always finds time to call us and send cards to her grandparents.” When she does return to Carlsbad, her favorite place to hang out is at the beach. She has fond memories of spending time with her family and friends there and loves to drive along the river. She also enjoys seeing the changes occurring within the city, including the popularity of the beer and wine festivals, Calico Christmas and the formation of the Cultural Development Council. She would love to see the city provide more opportunity to local artists and support the local music scene. For instance, she feels that the Cavern Theatre renovation would provide a much-needed venue for smaller indoor concerts. She believes that it is important for young artists to get involved and have knowledge of what opportunities are available for them. “We need to better prepare our youth, foster their creativity, and show them how to pursue their dreams,” Marrs concluded. With an example like Krista Marrs, the path for future Carlsbad artists seems a little less daunting.
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