Antonella Riega, a biology and Spanish major, dreamt of going to NASA ever since she was a child, but she said that she never thought it was realistic.
After seeing a flier for the National Community College Aerospace Scholars program, she spoke to one of her friends who applied and Riega decided to apply too.
Riega was one of the students chosen out of 600 applicants to take the 5-week long online class.
The 5-week class focused on planning to create a rover that is meant to go to Mars.
The students who did well in the class were asked to go to the on-site experience at NASA, Riega said.
“I didn’t think I would get in,” she said, but at the end of the 5-week program Riega was invited to go to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Riega was surprised to see 3 more CNM students there.
“It was nice to see some familiar faces,” she said.
On the first day of the experience all the students were divided into small groups of about 6 people, she said.
“Each group was a company and our mission was to get funds from NASA to send our rover to mars.”
Each person in the group was responsible for a different job such as; hardware design, software design, and publicity.
After they designed the rover they presented it to the NASA officials, and their rover was tested on how it moved and if it picked up rocks.
“Our rover kind of fell apart on the first time, it did okay but, in comparison to the other teams it didn’t do well,” Riega said, “But then in the second round we actually won!”
Riega and her team worked tirelessly to get the rover working, she said.
“Most days we woke up at 6am and worked all day until 2 or 3am into the next morning,” she said.
It was exhausting, but worth it, she said.
“We were mostly excited to see our rover work,” she said, “we were like, ‘Oh my god! We made this.”
Riega said that it was nice to see how in four days some random strangers could become really close.
“By the end of the four days we were all friends and we still talk to each other.”
After Riega’s experience she is reconsidering her childhood dream; working for NASA might not be as unrealistic as she thought.
Although working for NASA was always a dream of Riega’s as she grew older she realized that she wanted to go into medicine.
“I always thought that only engineers worked at NASA, but I found out that there is a surgeon who works at NASA who is also an astronaut,” she said.
Riega would like to finish her schooling and residency before she decides whether or not she wants to work for NASA, but it definitely an option, she said.
Riega’s advice for students who are thinking about applying for this program is to “just apply.”
“If you get into the online program don’t fall behind and if you get into the on-site experience, make the most of it.”
For more information about the National Community College Aerospace Scholars program click here
CNM added a statue, named “Growth in Strength”, to the south side of the library, which was revealed on October 10th, said Karen Yank, local sculptor.
The purpose was to commemorate CNM’s 50th anniversary but due to budgetary delays, she wasn’t able to have the project done by the exact date, but was able to get it done with in the 50th year, she said.
“I hope in another 50 years they’re celebrating their 100th anniversary right here” said Yank.
Mary Bates-Ulibarri, project director, was pleased with the end result and described the way every angle presents a new harmony and contrast.
According to Yank, the focal piece of the sculpture represents strength, shown by the inclusion of the Sandia Mountains and resiliency through the robust wild flower growing out of the harsh environment.
This piece stands 20 feet tall and the sculpture itself is made from stainless steel and corten, a type of steel that has a corrosion resistant patina, she said.
The seats that get direct sunlight are made with aluminum and the shadier seats are made with steel, she said.
A plaque will be added with a QR code that will direct viewers to an informative video, she said.
She was able to use her time here to help student artists by giving them advice on presenting their portfolios as well as inviting them to the multiple stages of the project, she said.
“Twenty-Five years in Albuquerque has not only given me a unique perspective on CNM, but has also influenced my work all over the city,” she said.
She has done projects for Coors/I-40, UNMH and is working on projects for a safety house in Los Cruces as well as the Vista Grande community center, she said.
CNM offers many different clubs. However, with a student body of over 25,000 students it can be difficult to stay in the loop.
Not all of the clubs that are available at CNM are listed on the CNM website so we at the Chronicle researched to find new clubs that students might not be aware of.
Listed below is a list of CNM clubs accepting members this semester.
Club: Sunflare Photography Club
The Sunflare photography club taking a picture of club president, Hannah Choy, while she takes a photo of them.
When and where: From 3:00pm-5:00pm on most Fridays at 4501 Juan Tabo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111 unless stated otherwise. Club meetings are announced via Facebook and email.
Club activities: The club goes to different locations such as Oldtown, Downtown Albuquerque, and the Bio Park to take photos. Sometimes they go out to eat and visit photo galleries, said club president, Hannah Choy.
Shot by Hannah Choy during one of the Sunflare’s photo walk in Oldtown.
Why students should join: “Students should join because our club is a good place to learn and practice photography skills, to make more experiences to put on resumes, to learn teamwork, to get networking opportunities, to gain leadership and to have lots of fun,” Choy said.
Contact information: Students interested in joining can contact Hannah Choy at hchoy@cnm.edu.
Club: Executive Council of Students (Student Government)
When and where: 4:00pm-6:00pm on Fridays at the ECOS office, BT3-b. (The portables near Trio and Taxhelp in the bookstore parking lot).
Club activities: The Executive Council of Students goals are to increase CNM’s sense community, provide opportunities for CNM students, provide fair representation of all students and bring those issues to the CNM administration, and to help distribute information about CNM to the students, said Council President, Jimmy Thompson.
Thompson is also hoping to provoke enough interest to support a CNMpics (CNM olympics) to host a series of events that are athletic, fun and all inclusive, he said.
Why students should join: Students should join because it not only increases one’s sense of community at CNM but it ensures a sense of community for everyone, Thompson said.
“ECOS works to represent the entire student body, no matter how small or diverse a population may be. The greater participation we have will result in a more varied governing body with a more extensive direct outreach to the student body and all persons on campus in general,” he said.
Contact information: Students who are interested in joining the Executive Council of students ca contact Jimmy Thompson at jthompson120@cnm.edu.
Club: Anthropology Club
Chandra Germain examining a Neanderthal skull at one of the Anthropology Club’s meet and greet events.
When and where: Noon on the first Friday of each month in the Main campus cafeteria. The first meeting of the semester will be on Friday, October 6th.
Club activities: In the past the Anthropology club has held Meet & Greet events, participated in the Westside Fall Festival and College Days, attended conferences, organized field trips and demonstrations, created campus displays, held fundraisers, and provided community service, said Sue Ruth, Anthropology instructor.
Why students should join: “Students should join if they have an interest in anthropology and want to get more involved at CNM”, Ruth said.
Contact information: Students interested in joining can contact Sue Ruth at sruth2@cnm.edu.
Students can also visit the CNM Anthropology Facebook page and click the “join group” button to get updates on events related to the club.
Club: Phi Theta Kappa
When and where: The upcoming general meeting is scheduled to take place on October 17. The upcoming officer meeting is scheduled to take place on October 4th at 2:00pm. PTK members also volunteer with East Gate Church food pantry on the first Saturday of every month.
Why students should join: The benefits of being a PTK member include; being able to apply for transfer scholarships and academic scholarships in their majors, having an opportunity to participate and lead community service initiatives, having the opportunity to fulfill leadership positions, and being able to study topics which relate to local community and how it relates to the student’s own personal professional life.
Contact information: For more information, students can contact the public relation officer Frozan Popal at fpopal1@cnm.edu or the PTK student’s president Brittiana Padilla at bpadilla77@cnm.edu.
Club: Art Club
Art Club flier. Jennifer Woehrle is the newly elected club president.
When and where: 4:30pm every Friday in room N12 on Main Campus
Club activities: We host workshops centering on various mediums and practices of art, anything from figure drawing to linocut printmaking, said the art club president Jennifer Woehrle.
Why students should join: Students should join if they are interested in art, or just in learning something new, Woehrle said.
Contact information: Students can join by showing up on a day that the club meets or they can email the art club president Jennifer Woehrle at jwoehrle@cnm.edu, or the art club vice president Carolina Kessler-Cocina akesslercocina@cnm.edu.
If these clubs don’t interest you, check out our summer club story here or check out the list of clubs on the CNM website.
If your perfect club doesn’t exist yet, create it! Click here for more information.
CNM Instructor Jason Witter, Artist/Director/Writer/Actor/
Jason Witter teaches Theatre appreciation and Acting 1, “I love the academic part of art, and I also love to feel that I’m participating in what I’m teaching outside the classroom” said Witter, CNM instructor since 2008.
What CNM has to offer, is arguably just as strong as a four-year university, in the sense that the college might not have as many classes but, the classes that CNM does offer are taught by top notch instructors who encompass many aspects of theatre with very strong acting and performance backgrounds; and strong movement and voice backgrounds, as well, Witter added.
The Coal Avenue Theatre, (CAT), gives students the possibility of creating shows in an on campus theatre that is open to the public. Witter says, it is a fantastic opportunity for students to have a theatre that produces shows.
“Theatre becomes a real sense of community and family; I fell in love with it from the beginning, due to that sense of belonging”, said Witter.
After receiving his master’s in theatre in dramatic writing, Witter started a sketch comedy troop called Eat Drink and be Larry with some people from UNM. He says, we’d do parodies; horror classical comedies of the plays theatres were putting on in town. All the acting, directing, writing and producing shows in the community was a great learning experience that started at the Reptilian Lounge, part of Tricklock Theatre Company.
Witter’s got into theatre after going to Wales for an exchange program, upon his return to New Mexico he found auditions going on at the Vortex and got a small part, then another small part, then got cast in Hamlet at UNM, “that was super exciting, I really fell in love with theatre, the people, the atmosphere the comradery of it, everything about it was so vibrant and exciting”, said Witter.
Witter did a lot with children’s theatre in grad school. He found a lot of freedom writing for a younger audience. He said, you can create worlds and characters because expectations and barriers don’t exist in kids, you can express anything that comes to mind.
A couple years ago Jason Witter started writing silly little poems and doing drawings for them, he said, they’re geared towards kids with a lot of stuff that adults understand and kids still dig it. I always loved Shel Silverstein, he added.
Witter loves monsters, he’s a horror movie fan and his take on it is to create silly poems about monsters and making them silly because it takes the fear out of them. “I love being scared but I also love being able to laugh at it, so that’s what I try to do with the poems”, Said Witter.
He gave himself a challenge a couple years ago, to do a poem and a drawing every day and post them on Facebook starting sept 1st until October 31st; Witter added that although he doesn’t really like social media, it worked for this. He did 60 poems and got through it.
By Halloween he had a rough draft for his book, friends suggested that he do a Kickstarter for it as a way to get it out to people and it blew up. The Tiniest Vampire and Other Silly Things ended up being supported and shipped out to people in Ireland, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Australia, “it was super cool!”, said Witter.
The following year he did the same thing and put out the Monsters Eating Ice Cream and Other Silly Things. As part of the “Silly Things” series of books, Witter plans to do one more this fall for the trilogy and then focus on something else, he said. The seed from it was loving children’s theatre.
Witter drew comic books growing up, his father and brothers were artists; his mother was a writer, and this is something that he wanted to revisit. He said, he feels fortunate to have been supported with that.
He added, “I love the arts in general and I love dabbling, they’re all an important part of our existence. I’m fascinated by every aspect of it and all the arts go hand in hand. They work together to create the humanities”.
Witter is working on a series of short books called Classics Kind of, where it retells the story taking the classics and putting them in very simple terms, “Kind of” geared for kids. He said, his goal with these little books is that they be fun for everybody, that’s the way he learned Shakespeare, by understanding the basic story and going from there.
He is doing Hamlet, The Raven, The Odyssey, Dracula, and Moby Dick in a series of 5 books he called tiny versions of the classics with silly illustrations. Witter’s undergraduate degree was in literature and naturally he’s a huge literature fan. His love for the classics and putting them in simple terms has led him to basically doing hamlet in 16 pages with drawings to go along, he said.
Some people might disagree with this, but according to Witter, most of Shakespeare can be summarized in a few pages. They’re fairly simple stories brilliantly written, “there’s so much meat to them” he said. It’s the language that is so broad and immense that it can be intimidating. But when you understand the basic story you start to understand the text, he added.
In his off time Witter is reading and researching plays that have been around for 500 years, yet people keep doing them because they’re great stories that we like as human beings, he said he loves seeing what people do with it, Theatre being an ephemeral thing, you do it and its gone.
Witter added a classical quote by William Shakespeare,
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players: they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” – As you like it, Act II Scene VII
Witter’s is also directing a parody of Macbeth that he wrote for his Theatre Appreciation class to perform at the Reptilian Lounge Saturday June 24th
Jason Witter will be on stage at the South Broadway Cultural Center in Peter and The Star Catcher. “there are no small parts only small actors”
Between plays he’s producing or directing, classes he’s teaching, and books he’s writing and illustrating, CNM instructor Jason Witten sits down with The Chronicle. (Wade Faast/CNM Chronicle)
As part of the CNM library authors event and the Leonardo release party, award winning poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca is scheduled to share his work.
The event will be held on April 19th from 6-8pm at the main campus library.
Many of our students read his work in their English, composition, and poetry courses, said Rebecca Aronson, English instructor.
“He is a local and national celebrity,” she said.
Aronson said that Baca is a role model and even a hero to many CNM students, faculty and staff.
“He is just such an amazing writer and he is such a force of a person,” she said, “His life experience is so compelling and I think a lot of people connect to his struggles and his triumphs.”
After Baca shares his work there will be time for questions and answers from the audience as well as a book signing.
Baca will bring books to sell, Aronson said.
Leonardo, CNM’s literary magazine, will be releasing their 2017 issue.
Four students who were published in the magazine are scheduled to share their work prior to Jimmy Santiago Baca.
The CNM library authors event is an annual event where authors come and share their work with the CNM community.
Last year was the first year that the CNM library and Leonardo teamed up to host two events in one, Aronson said.
The event was a success so they wanted to combine the events again this year.
“We loved that,” Aronson said, “It was so nice to have student readers involved.”
Previous authors that attended the authors event were Arthur Sze and Jamal May.
February 20, 2017. By Hilary Broman, Senior Staff Reporter
Rebecca Aronson, CNM English instructor, recently published her second book of poems, “Ghost Child of the Atalanta Bloom,” she said.
The book starts with a field on fire, Aronson said, it has several themes such as fire and drought, parenting and loss.
About two years ago, Aronson decided to make writing more central to her life, so she teamed up with fellow CNM English instructor, Erin Adair-Hodges, and they worked simultaneously on their manuscripts while providing each other with feedback, Aronson said.
Both Aronson and Adair-Hodges submitted their final manuscripts to press contests and both of them won, Aronson said.
Aronson’s first book, “Creature, Creature,” was published in 2007 and it was composed of a lot of work that she did in graduate school, she said.
Aronson’s poetry has changed a lot over the years and her new book reflects that, she said.
“This book feels much more true to who I am,” she said.
Amidst her busy work schedule and family time, Aronson carves out time to write, she said, even if that means forgoing a weekend event or staying up late at night.
“I feel better when I’m writing,” she said.
Aronson recalls the best piece of writing advice that she received; she was talking to another writer about grading loads and responsibilities, she said.
“She grabbed me by my shoulders and said, ‘Just know that the writing has to come first.’ Aronson said.
It’s always problematic for Aronson to find that time because she wants to give everything she does her full attention, she said.
“I want to teach with integrity, I want to give my students good feedback, I want to give my son attention and I want to give my marriage attention,” she said, “Making a commitment to yourself to do it is the best thing and not to hold yourself to too high a standard.”
Aronson participates in National Poetry Month every April where she writes a poem a day for 30 days.
“At the end of the month I have 30 terrible drafts but then at least it gets my brain moving and it’s material to start revising,” she said.
Aronson is also involved with many CNM writing events, she said, she facilitates the Main campus writing group and organizes the CNM visiting writers series.
Rebecca Aaronson’s new book Ghost Child of the Atalanta Bloom is scheduled for release on April 4, 2017. While this is her second book to be published, Aaronson said it is just as exciting as her first book “Creature, Creature” published in 2007. (Wade Faast/CNM Chronicle)
Aronson and Adair-Hodges also co-host a reading and music series outside of CNM called “Badmouth,” she said.
It’s a mix of performances by musicians and writers, she said.
“It’s something that we wanted to go to, but that didn’t exist, so we decided to do it,” Aronson said.
The upcoming Bad Mouth event will be on March 11th at Tortuga gallery and the ticket sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood, Aronson said.
Erin Adair-Hodges, CNM English instructor, is scheduled to release her first book of poems titled, “Let’s All Die Happy,” this fall, she said.
She was the winner of the Pitt Poetry first book prize at the University of Pittsburgh Press, Hodges said.
The book is told through a woman’s lens and is very much about the world as experienced as a woman in this culture, she said.
“It investigates lots of different ways in which the world can wear on girls and women,” she said, “as young girls, as daughters, for some of us, as mothers, and as lovers.”
It is also an investigation of apostasy and a loss of faith in religious and cultural institutions, she said.
“What happens when you no longer find meaning in those, where do you find meaning?” Hodges said.
There is also a real dark humor throughout the book, she said.
Hodges has always been interested in Creative writing and she received a Masters degree in poetry, she said.
She stopped writing after she received her degree because she had to work many jobs to make ends meet and she felt, in many ways, that her voice didn’t matter, she said.
Erin Adair-Hodges, full time instructor at CNM in the English department has her first book of poetry being published this fall. (Wade Faast/CNM Chronicle)
“I had been led to feel as if my voice and my perspectives weren’t valuable,” Hodges said.
About three years ago, after the birth of her son, Hodges began to think about bringing poetry back into her life, she said.
“I started thinking about who I am outside of my obligations, which is something I think that’s especially important for women to do because too often we get defined by our relationships and obligations to others,” she said.
Hodges decided to commit to making poetry a priority, she said.
“I only started getting published in journals and then getting my book taken when I treated poetry like a job and not just a fun hobby,” Hodges said.
Hodges ended up creating an early draft of her manuscript at the end of 2014 and the version that won the Pitt Poetry Prize was complete in early 2016, she said.
“It was pretty fast”, she said, “but I think it happened so quickly because it had been years of me storing up all of that energy and focus and because I felt like since I was getting a late start, I had no time to lose.”
Hodges worked closely with Rebecca Aronson, another CNM instructor who also published a book this year, to provide each other feedback, she said.
“Although we write very differently, we’ve become really good critics of each other’s work,” she said.
Hodges and Aronson both won contests within six months of each other and Hodges is genuinely happy for Aronson’s success, she said.
“There is plenty of space for lots of great work to be out there. I like to celebrate my friends who get their work recognized,” she said.
Hodges’ poetry was recently featured on PBS NewsHour, she said.
She was asked to submit a poem that spoke to the current climate in this country, she said.
She submitted a poem called, “The Jennifer Century.” Click here to read.
Hodges attributes a lot of her success to being able to rediscover her own weirdness, she said.
“I was a deeply creative, weird thinker and then I lost it for a long time,” Hodges said, “I think becoming a more successful writer was a process of getting back to that original, almost childlike way of processing the world.”
Hodges said that she sees this in students all the time. They give her answers that they think she wants to hear and that’s not the case.
“What I want is their unique, fresh take, formed by their experiences,” she said, “What can you, as an entirely unique person, with entirely unique perspectives bring to this that we’ve never heard before?”
With that, Hodges encourages students to explore classes that are not just a part of their degree program but classes that will help them see their lives differently, she said.
“Poetry has absolutely been that in my own life,” Hodges said.
Hodges’ book is scheduled to be released in the fall, she said.
Pèrez shared poems that were about topics that were concerning her, she said, one subject in particular is the wall on the Mexican American border.
“Lots of bits of the wall have already been erected since 2008,” she said, “I think it’s important for me to share the poems that talk about how this has been happening for a long time and that we don’t want more to come.”
Pèrez also chose to read poems that had a lot of repetition and were musical sounding because they are the most performative poems from her book, she said.
Pérez describes her writing process to the audience. Photo credit Hilary Broman.
Pèrez lives in South Texas but she traveled along the Rio Grande River to do research for her book, she said.
She spent time in Colorado where the river begins, and spent time in Taos, New Mexico, she said.
“Poets just look at stuff and try to see beyond the surface and make connections,” Pèrez said.
Pèrez used the things she saw during her research as a starting point to make images in her poems, she said.
“I try to write things in a way that you haven’t quite heard before,” she said.
Pèrez tends to write most when she is feeling a lot of emotion, she said.
The best piece of writing advice was given to her by Joy Castro, an award-winning author, in a writing workshop, Pèrez said.
“Joy quoted Natalie Goldberg who said ‘Go for the jugular,” Pèrez said.
Now Pèrez uses that in the creative writing classes that she teaches, she said.
“When I say, ‘Go for the jugular,’ it is the time when you are supposed to push yourself to say what you are uncomfortable saying or might be avoiding,” she said, “We need to say what we really want to say.”
Pèrez encourages students to attend poetry readings as well as perform their own poetry when given the chance, she said.
By reading poetry out loud it allows the audience to hear the musicality in the poem as well as have a conversation with the poet, she said.
“Poetry is a living art form and I don’t think it’s only meant to be read,” she said.
Pèrez’s new book, “With the River on Our face,” is on sale at the CNM bookstore for $16.95, as well as her previous book, “Solstice,” for $14.00, said Ann Heaton, CNM bookstore area manager.
Students can also visit Pèrez’s website to purchase her books and see upcoming events at www.emmyperez.com.
