Although Justin Lucero ’09 struggled during his first years at St. Pius X High School, challenging yet caring teachers helped him build the foundation that has brought the accomplishment of one professional goal after another.

Lucero in early 2020 accepted the position of Deputy Director of Research Compliance for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. At the age of 29, he is believed to be one of youngest directors in University of New Mexico history. He arrived at his UNM position just as COVID-19 arrived in New Mexico and immediately began to work in that sphere to ensure that studies and trials at UNM involving COVID-19 are safe and in compliance with federal and state guidelines.

Born and raised in the South Valley, Lucero thrived in enriched classes in public elementary and middle school, where he admits he was never truly challenged. “The first week of St. Pius was the biggest shock of my life,” he says. “It was hands down the hardest week of my life thus far. I realized that this was real education and real challenges. It was a struggle freshman year. My parents also struggled, they didn’t know how to help me. I was working as hard as I could, but I couldn’t figure it out.”

A junior year meeting with St. Pius X math teacher Barbara Ducaj ’79 brought him what he describes as a wake up call. “She said, ‘With your grades you can barely get into UNM, you have to push yourself. Are you really showing up to class? Are you really present for all 45 minutes?’ I took what she said to heart. My dad worked two jobs so I could go to Pius, as a barber and a security guard. I didn’t want to let him down. I knew I could do better.”

Lucero says teachers including Will Gater ’00, Sister Reina Romero, Mimosa Finley, Al Mills, and Mary Coburn also helped push him to be his best, along with English teacher Phil Zuber. “Mr. Zuber made me think on a level I never thought before in writing and in life in general,” Lucero says. “I took those values of goodness, discipline and knowledge to heart.” 

Applying Ms. Ducaj’s advice to “show up,” Lucero was earning straight As his senior year. “With the help of Saint Pius, I got to the University of New Mexico and felt a passion and drive for learning,” he says. “In each course I felt that I was learning faster and able to push myself to be the best in my classes.”

Entering college, Lucero always had an interest in a career with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. He learned that an accounting degree could lead to a position in forensic accounting with the FBI, but it wouldn’t come immediately. He finished his bachelor’s degree in business administration in four years with cum laude honors. “For a kid that grew up in the South Valley, being the first in my family to graduate from college and making the honor roll was enough success in itself,” he says. “But what I learned from St. Pius is that I can always do more and better. So I jumped right into my master’s of accounting where I graduated in 2016.” 

During graduate studies Lucero worked full time as an accountant for the USDA Forest Service and went to school full time at night. After earning his master’s and still pursuing the FBI, he took a position as an auditor for the Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General, and became a lead auditor in less than a year. 

After four years of seeking his ultimate goal, he was offered the opportunity to join the FBI, Office of Inspector General, in Denver in 2017. 

“I was able to be part of and lead two major sections of Cryptocurrency and Deconfliction of the ‘Audit of FBI’s Strategy to Disrupt Illegal Activity on the Dark Web,’” he says. The audit won an Inspector General Award in 2019. 

“Although the FBI and Denver was an incredible experience, I felt I needed to be back home with my family and give back to my home state,” Lucero says. 

After two years with the FBI, he joined the Pueblo of Sandia Health Center as its first compliance manager. He created a compliance plan in two months and helped implement strategies to mitigate risk for the health center. “Again, the tools and skills St. Pius provided me gave me the confidence to excel in the health compliance world,” he says.

A year later and with new training and experience in healthcare compliance and research compliance, Lucero discovered the job at UNM Health Sciences. “It was a perfect fit for me; to be at my alma mater, give back to UNM and really use my skills,” he says. “I was two weeks in when the state shut down started. I had to develop and write protocols for clinical trials. At that point I remembered vividly hating Ms. Finley in junior English. I would work so hard on a 20-page research paper and get a C+. But if it wasn’t for those teachers who pushed me I wouldn’t be where I am. I take what they taught with me in everything I write.”

Lucero also thanks his parents, Sara and Leonard Lucero, for giving him the “ultimate gift of a St. Pius education.”

“I owe all my success and blessings to St. Pius,” Lucero says. “It was a challenge but what St. Pius does is give you the tools to learn. It really showed me if you show up and try your best every single day, success will come. I have the tools and the faith, the rest is up to me.”