Cecilia Ana Luján was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and grew up in nearby Nambe, a primarily Hispanic and Native American community. Her mother was a career elementary school teacher, and her father was a mason. They raised their two daughters with an appreciation for their cultural heritage. After graduating from high school in 1966, Luján received a scholarship to attend the University of Albuquerque. Feeling homesick, she transferred to the College of Santa Fe after her first semester. She was one of the first women to attend that school after it changed to a coed institution. She graduated in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
After graduation, Luján struggled to find a job in her field and worked for a car dealership in Santa Fe. While she mainly took care of the paperwork, she occasionally provided rides to clients. One day she gave Carl Wickstrum a lift to the National Park Service (NPS) regional office. She mentioned she had applied for summer jobs with the NPS but hadn’t been hired. He acknowledged that he was a personnel officer for the NPS Southwest Region and asked about her educational background. With his encouragement, she went into the office and filled out another application.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service