Category: Student Resourses

By Truett Jackson

Staff Reporter

            Charnia Parrish and Nikki Purkeypile are advisement staff and part-time instructors at CNM who are very keen on mental health first-aid and are working to share these techniques with other faculty, staff, and administrators.

            Purkeypile, who was first trained in this area eleven years ago, said that last year Wellness CNM committed itself to having in-house, permanent trainers in mental health first-aid.

            “I think that Charnia and I are both people who are very passionate about this, and so people kind of found us somehow … people identified that we were passionate about this and asked us if we wanted to become certified trainers.”, said Purkeypile.

            Parrish, who co-heads the program, said that this is an area that fit her expertise. “I have a background working in psych, so that coupled with my major, this was the logical thing to do, and I was happy to do so. I completed the training, like Nikki did, about a year ago. I think of this as an expansion of Wellness CNM’s services; in addition to the other wraparound services that they’re re-introducing, having mental health first-aid for staff and faculty was a logical extension of that, as not only a way to help students, but also ourselves and each other.”

            The training itself involves a whole day, in-person training with the instructors, as well as pre-work that the teacher-students study beforehand. A specific technique used is referred to with the acronym ALGEE.

            This technique is where staff and faculty are trained to first approach and assess. They determine whether there is a risk of suicide or harm, and assist. They then listen, non-judgmentally, to the student, and give reassurance and information. The next step is to encourage them to seek the appropriate professional help, and further encourage them in ways such as self-help and other support strategies.

            “Following that format, whatever steps are appropriate at that time, allows us to possibly extend help to someone; letting them know that there is hope for recovery.”, explained Parrish.

            Purkeypile agreed that the ALGEE technique has been shown to produce positive outcomes. “ALGEE first-aid is also important for early intervention before something is a crisis, so it starts from the regular concern side of the spectrum, to more concerned, to crisis. So, intervening early leads to better outcomes and more hope of recovery. Just like a physical injury … many of us have needed first aid in our lives. So, it’s a similar premise: what can we do immediately, to help someone right now? And so that can prevent worse outcomes, but on the other end, it can create better outcomes. Get people support early.”

            The pair noted that they believe in providing additional supports wherever possible for those in need, identifying and recognizing when someone is in crisis, and granting grace wherever possible. They also see a successful future for the course and its outcomes.

            “I would like to see more staff and faculty get trained. I think we’ve had more of the administrative side trained than faculty, and I see that interest is expressed. In my ideal world, if we are teaching three to four classes a year, I would like after four years for us to have trained most of the people here. That’s what I’d love to see.”, said Parrish.

            “Four years?”, commented Purkeypile, “I love that.”

CNM’s Mental health first-aid course is open to faculty, staff, and administrators. Part-time faculty is encouraged to reach out to their associate dean for eligibility info. All information regarding future courses and enrollment can be found by contacting Wellness CNM at 505-224-3000.

By Truett Jackson       

Staff Reporter

          There can be many reasons that a CNM student may consider changing their course of study. They may realize that it is not a good fit for them personally, they just do not see themselves being happy with their career choice in the long run, or they just do not have quite the same dreams and goals they did when they finished high school.

Thankfully, CNM has so many fields of study available that finding the right path is easy. With the aid of current technology and the guidance of a CNM advisor, finding the right degree program or area of study can be a piece of cake.

Most CNM students are familiar with the EduNav system. This is found through myCNM, clicking on ‘Registration’, and clicking ‘Register for Classes’. This is how a student can see their past progress, current status, and future plan, all the way up to their declared graduation goal.

Through the EduNav system, a student can add, drop, or change their scheduled classes. Though one can do all this on their own, advisors highly recommend that a student meets with them to make sure they’re staying on track.  Advisors can also make sure students are clear on withdrawal dates, refunds, and knowing which course or how many courses are required for them in that particular semester.

If a student is curious about what changing their major might look like, or they haven’t declared a major yet and want to see what it takes to acquire a career in a field they’re interested in, they may find benefit in checking out CNM Degree Works, which is powered by an ‘intelligent learning platform’ called Ellucian.

To find the Degree Works link, go to the myCNM ‘Registration’ page, and in the middle section, you’ll see a banner that says ‘Stay on Track’ under the ‘Academic Advisement’ heading. Directly under this banner is the highlighted ‘CNM Degree Works’ hyperlink.

Once you are redirected to the Degree Works page, a student will automatically be in the ‘Academic’ section of their program evaluation. They can see all of their pertinent info listed, along with all the classes they’ve completed or need for their degree.

Right under the first section, where one’s info is listed, they’ll see two links. The first, ‘Academic’, can be thought of as written in ink. The other link, ‘What-If’, is right alongside the first. This section can be seen as ‘penciling it in’, and this is the fun part.

In this ‘What-if’ section, a student can scroll through all the catalog years, programs and degrees that CNM offers. By simply selecting a degree and clicking ‘process’, a learner can view how far they would be toward that degree, what would be expected, and every class they would take to achieve that degree.

These tools can be like a road map for students, and what took hours or days for someone to try to do manually just a few years ago can be computed instantly, and it can be quite amusing to play around and see what all the possibilities are.

While students may have a map to use and plan their journey toward their career destination, they wouldn’t want to jump in a river raft and try to traverse the rapids all alone. To get through with ease, one needs a river guide. These guides are your friendly CNM advisors.

Meeting with an advisor prior to making any permanent changes is highly recommended and is required in many cases. They are super helpful and here to serve the CNM student body. A student can easily make an appointment with them either online or by calling, or just simply walk on into any campus and see one today. CNM advisors have a wealth of knowledge and many have been through the process themselves. Sometimes, they even have candy.

By Truett Jackson

Staff Reporter

            When you are part of any campus community, one of the first fundamental things to get familiar with is how to keep yourself safe on school grounds. To do this, one of your best options is to get advice from a pro.

            “We want to be approachable, and we want to be visible,” said Deputy Chief of Security Tony Fields, a seven-year veteran of CNM’s security team. “So, we kinda stress to all our guys to get out and be seen.”

            When traversing any of CNM’s grounds, students can expect to see Fields and his fellow teammates in their black and Hi-Vis bright yellow vests.

            “Our Chief instituted a thing that we do a ‘hello’. We want our guys to say hello to people, so they are approachable” Fields said.

            One only has to look at the statistics in the most recent CNM Annual Security Report to see that Fields and his colleagues’ strategy of employing openness, friendliness and visibility seems to be highly effective.

            While there are trouble spots in the report, like a couple of burglaries on different campuses and some incidents of stalking, the statistic for the last few years shows that CNM’s school grounds are significantly safer than the surrounding community at large.

            With that being said, there are still steps that every learner can take to ensure they have the safest experience possible while getting their business done at school. According to Tony Fields, there is one thing above all to keep in mind.

            “Awareness.” Said Fields. “You need to be aware. Be aware of your surroundings. Looking at your phone, listening to music… that’s not being aware.”

            He told us that being aware ties into every area of personal campus safety, from the moment you pull into the parking lot until you leave to go home.

            Refraining from keeping valuables in your vehicle, knowing who is around you, and watching for bikes and cars are part of being mindfully alert and aware. Knowing important contact numbers is also an important precaution.

            Fields said that an area of particular importance when it comes to being aware is what to do in the event of an active shooter event on or around a CNM campus.

            “It can happen anywhere,” Fields said, and  that schools should be trained in a method called ‘run, hide, fight’ to respond to a major security event. “If we are in an active shooter-type incident, most of the buildings are gonna get immediately locked down, so you’re not gonna be able to get into a building. Get off campus. Go somewhere safe.”

            He said that once you get yourself to a safe place during such a situation, you should call the proper authorities. He provided a card with a cute, alert-looking creature on the front that can be found all around on campus, and their Chief has begun handing them out to every student during orientation.

            “That is a meerkat,” said Tony. “A meerkat, when he’s at home, all he’s doing is watching his surroundings. And that’s what we want people to do here.”

            Fields said that students should familiarize themselves with the important emergency and non-emergency numbers on the reverse of the meerkat card and save them to their contacts. He suggested they reach out by phone, online or in-person at any campus.

            “If any students have any questions or any concerns, they can come by our office, and we can answer any questions they may have.”

CNM Security is temporarily located on Main Campus in room SSC-110 and can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 505-224-3002.

 Pictured above:

A watchful meerkat with important CNM security info (top) and Deputy Chief of Security Tony Fields (bottom)