Guinivere Mayse and Hannah Augustyniak received awards for their articles about women’s history from the Doña Ana County Historical Society (DACHS) at its recent annual banquet.
The DACHS actively promotes and recognizes historical research, preservation and education regarding Doña Ana County and Southern New Mexico. The society facilitates these efforts through financial grants, awards and the publication of research.
The two New Mexico State University students’ work was published in the 2026 Southern New Mexico Historical Review. Their articles take women’s history beyond the books, bringing their stories out of the shadows and illuminating the full extent of their impact on feminism and society in Las Cruces.
Mayse’s work “Women Belong on Campus: The College Life of Mary Daniels” won the $100 Gemoets Prize for Outstanding Article in this edition of the Southern New Mexico Historical Review.
Augustyniak’s work “The Wednesday Literary Club: The Role of Women in Las Cruces, 1940-1974” won the $100 Katherine B. Stoes Prize.
“In trying to understand what is was like to be a woman in the middle of the 20th century, they both chose to look at pioneer women and women’s groups in the community and the challenges they faced,” said Jerry Wallace, history assistant professor and director of the public history program at NMSU. “It was really interesting to see where they took it, and I think they were both writing about a place that was really important to them and could see a connection to these particular stories.”
Mayse, a senior double-majoring in history and art history, focused on the college life of Mary Daniels Taylor. In her article, Mayse separates Daniels Taylor’s accomplishments and influence from those of her husband, New Mexico legislator and educator J. Paul Taylor. Like many women throughout history, Daniels Taylor’s contributions were often sidelined in favor of supporting societal norms. Mayse works to give credit where it’s due – acknowledging Daniels Taylor’s academic prowess and artistic passion alongside her life as a wife and mother.
“Most narratives of this power couple focus perhaps a bit more on J. Paul Taylor, but Guinivere puts all of the focus on Mary Daniels and her long and influential career as a photographer and historian,” said Christopher Schurtz, editor of the Southern New Mexico Historical Review. “It really is a definitive piece, and Guinivere clearly worked hard on it, making great use of primary source accounts and capturing and describing Mary's incredible career and life."
Augustyniak, a junior double-majoring in history and anthropology at NMSU, studied a women’s group called The Wednesday Literary Club. Combing through decades of articles and scrapbooks, Augustyniak found that the club’s influence spread well beyond their book reviews. They were involved in community service, organized events, raised funding for libraries, championed women’s education and supported many other causes. Together, this group of women created a new social scene in Las Cruces. Augustyniak’s work highlights their silent yet steady contributions to shaping the local social climate.
“She included many voices of these women and described very well the various activities of this group, which was far more than just a ‘reading club,’” said Schurtz. “Previous historians have written about the homegrown, Western feminism of this group, and Hannah's well researched article only adds to this rich history."
Both Mayse and Augustyniak found support in Wallace’s history class and in NMSU’s Writing Center throughout the writing process. They spent Wallace’s class drafting their papers section by section, implementing feedback and learning to present their work. In the middle of the drafting process, Wallace took his students to the NMSU archives.
“It was my first time in the archives, so that was really cool,” Augustyniak said. “It was really interesting to get into the hands-on part of history.”
“Something that I learned and really appreciated about the process was working from recently created archives,” Mayse added. “It was a fresh, new archive that was constantly being updated. It’s that kind of behind-the-scenes thing that I really appreciate about museum and archival work.”
After their class was over, Wallace encouraged both students to submit their papers to the Southern New Mexico Historical Review. Not only were they accepted for publication they also received awards for their work.
“I think that they’re both amazing students,” Wallace said. “They’re going to be very successful professionally in whatever they do.”
-30-
CUTLINE: Guinivere Mayse and Hannah Augustyniak, two undergraduate students studying history at New Mexico State University, received awards from the Doña Ana County Historical Society at its recent annual banquet. From left: Hannah Augustyniak, Guinivere Mayse and Jerry Wallace, history assistant professor and director of the public history program at NMSU. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
CUTLINE: Guinivere Mayse, a senior double-majoring in history and art history at New Mexico State University, accepts her award and Gemoets Prize for Outstanding Article from the Doña Ana County Historical Society. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
CUTLINE: Hannah Augustyniak, a junior double-majoring in history and anthropology at New Mexico State University, accepts her award and the Katherine B. Stoes Prize from the Doña Ana County Historical Society. (NMSU photo by Sarah Kimmerly)
