Vice
President of Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College
Longmont,
Colorado
Dr. Elena Sandoval-Lucero is the vice president of the Boulder County Campus of Front Range Community College (FRCC). She serves as CEO of the campus, and represents the campus, and the college throughout Boulder County. Dr. Sandoval-Lucero has 30 years of experience in academic and student affairs settings in higher education. She has led strategic planning efforts and developed enrolment management plans at multiple institutions. Dr. Sandoval-Lucero earned her Bachelors’ degree in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. She earned Masters’ degrees in Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum Development from University of Colorado Denver, and Psychology from American Public University. She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation from the University of Colorado Denver. She teaches in the higher education program at the University of Denver, and has presented, researched, and written about the field of higher education.
Higher Education faces a great deal
challenges and opportunities, here in New Mexico, and across the country. As
you think about CNM’s future specifically, how would you describe its most
significant challenges as well as its greatest opportunities?
Community colleges in general, don’t do
a good job of telling their stories. In order to remedy this, we have to decide
what our story is, then create an elevator speech (one that can be told in two
to three minutes, in the time it takes in a normal elevator ride); here’s who
we are, what our values are, and why we’re positioned this way in the
community. Next, establish relationships beyond the Community College with the
out-laying community. On the subject of resources, we have to ask a different
question instead of how do we find students, ask how do we get students to come
to us. You have to discover what students you’ve lost and work to bring that
neglected group back into the fold. If they’re your more mature students, heads
of households, we have go to their jobs and see if we can work on solutions
that give employers incentives to allow their workers to return to school.
Because I come from a Financial Aid background, I know that the number one
issue of reenrolment is financial, but if we can relieve some of that burden,
we can improve that application to enrolment process. Another issue to resolve
is to make sure it’s convenient, schedule-wise, for students to follow simple
maps to graduation because of where and how classes are scheduled (reduce
conflicts).
What are you going to do make our
Applied Technologies, better?
All decisions should be about what’s
best for the student. There are areas where the interests of the students
overlap between departments and we need to explore and exploit those
intersections.
What are your ideas and philosophies on
how technology can affect enrolment and the student experience?
In Colorado, our campuses are truly
spread out, nearly 40 minutes apart in some cases, so it was inefficient to try
and drive to those campuses on a regular basis. Instead we put a poly-conference
center on all the campuses, that intra-connected those campuses. The upside was
it allowed the administration to be more present on all of their separate
campuses because of the less travel. Ultimately, we need to make sure our
technology infrastructure stays current and that it’s maintained and make that
a line budget item.
With Adjunct Faculty at CNM representing
nearly 70% of total faculty, what is your relationship to this group at your
present college? What do you see as the role of adjunct faculty and what is
your direction or vision for them in your administration?
I’m a big proponent of professional
development. For the first two years of a new hire, it’s all about them
creating a style that works for them and in the third year, there’s an assessment
that allows them to shore up the areas that are exposed as weaknesses.
The CNM Law Enforcement Academy is preparing for the next round of students this August by fine-tuning their curriculum with a few slight changes to ensure the students are receiving the best instruction while utilizing all of the academic services CNM has to offer, said Matthew Thomas, Criminal Justice Interim Affairs Director.
“When you try to run an integrated curriculum, especially
with police officers, there is so much you have to think about. You have to
think about the law, tactics; you need to know about reasonableness and the
standards out there,” said Thomas.
Thomas said they are trying to make things easier,
particularly by focusing on the class’s academic processes, to make sure they
are taking care of the students academically down the road as well.
“We’re trying to break some things up into some modules, so
if somebody did fail, the student would have the ability to come back in later
on perhaps,” Thomas said. “And we’re trying to line things more up with the
academic processes at the college this time, which I think is working better.”
Thomas said they will also
more than likely preload some of the tactical stuff a little earlier in the
academy and not wait for some aspects to be later in the academy.
Test anxiety workshops,
great physical fitness training and having the classes on the west side are
some of the methods that worked well, Thomas said.
“Some of the good things about the academy were the use of test anxiety workshops, as well as being able to walk across to the next building and get English tutoring. This resulted in the students being able to be brought up to report-writing standards very quickly and alleviate some test fears,” he said.
The use of Blackboard was also a helpful utilization tool
because students were able to go back and look at resources throughout the
course of the class, Thomas said.
Elias Romero, a fitness instructor at CNM, did a great job
in getting the students ready in the physical fitness department and they met
all their exit standards at the midpoint, said Thomas.
Deciding to have the academy take place on the west side was
another good idea, Thomas said.
“Overall, having it in a less stressful environment worked
because the west side academy is beautiful and being in an academic environment
is different than an academy environment, so I think we were able to get better
academically trained police officers,” said Thomas.
The reality of the schedule is that they are either trying
to do shift schedules of five eight-hour days or four ten-hour days, but it’s
usually a mixture of both, he said. Students are asked to check in sometime between
6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and classes run anywhere from 4:00 pm to 6:00 at night.
Thomas said they try to leave the classroom as a safe zone, so
there still needs to be professional discipline, decorum and abiding by certain
rules, but the good thing was that no one ever fell asleep and they were very
engaged the entire time considering that the academy can often be an
emotionally draining experience.
“It’s easy to make mistakes, but what we really try to do is
dwell on academics and engage them using some of the methodologies in the
classroom that CNM developed and I think as a result of that they were very
engaged,” said Thomas.
Thomas said he wants the students to be able to ask as many
questions as they like during the training.
“We want them to ask questions, be critical thinkers, and
have them keep a record of everything they do,” said Thomas.
The class is graded to type up notes that the teachers evaluate
and look at regularly, so they can make sure students have the proper study
material and all the things they need in order to succeed, Thomas said.
“The first class to graduate did pretty well and did a good
job on their state certification exam,” Thomas said.
Students from the first class graduated CNM’s academy on May
24, 2019 and are currently receiving further training from Albuquerque Police
Department before graduating on July 22, 2019.
As far as how the academy turned out the first time around,
Thomas felt that the schedule worked pretty well and that the things he and the
teachers did critique themselves on were overall relatively minor, he said.
“I think it went very well being the first time that we ran
it,” Thomas said.
On July 19, CNM’s student government has scheduled a free
showing of DC’s “Shazam!” to help students unwind before the end of the summer
term and has invited other student groups to join if they’d like to boost
awareness.
The event will take place at the CNM Prop House on the
southeast corner of Coal Avenue and Oak Street from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
“Summer semester classes started on May fifth and have been
stressful to some students,” said Angel Garcia, the president of the Executive
Council of Students (ECOS).
Their goal is to help students achieve their academic dreams
and sometimes that involves taking a break from the workload and watching a
good movie, he added.
Especially during the summer, some students on campus may
not be aware of the presence of ECOS and they aim to change that with the
upcoming movie night.
“We have these events to raise awareness to
the student populace that CNM does have a student government and that they do
have a voice,” he said.
Garcia even offered an invitation for other student
organizations to join movie night and other ECOS events so that the student
body could see more of what groups are at CNM.
“We also
extend an invitation to other student organizations to come to our events and
fundraise by selling sodas or chips or whatever they choose.” he said.
If you
have any questions pertaining to student-related events happening at CNM,
contact Garcia at agarcia999@cnm.edu.
Multiple new resources have been scheduled to begin this
fall for CNM’s LGBTQ+ community and allies, including weekly lunch socials, another
Coming Out Day, regular visits for HIV testing on campus and the chartering of a
new student group, said Brian Rasmussen, an organizer of QCNM and the LGBTQ+
Advisory Committee at CNM.
These new resources and activities are a continuation of the
two groups’ collaboration to create more equity and safe spaces for people and
allies in the LGBTQ+ community, he said.
“One of the ways we wanted to start creating more equity was
to raise visibility . . . so that people would see that CNM is an inclusive
place – for the most part, there’s lots of places that we need to keep working
on – and that there are people in the institution who are actively working to
change policies to create a safer and more welcome environment,” said
Rasmussen.
Weekly lunches will be replacing the Q-Study Halls that have
been active since the spring term of 2018 but not getting the attendance the
organizers had hoped, he said.
The lunches, much like the study halls, will provide
opportunities for people to drop in, hang out, socialize and get to know each
other every Wednesday in the Main Campus cafeteria. It is also confirmed that
the event will take place at the West Side and Montoya campuses, he said.
QCNM will also be hosting its second Coming Out Day in
October of 2019. Because the group’s focus is on getting the student group running,
he said this year will be scaled back a bit, but last year, they had food, a
speakers’ panel and people tabling from many different organizations.
On June 27, for National HIV Testing Day, free HIV testing was
scheduled to make its first appearance on Main Campus through Southwest Cares,
an organization that provides free HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing
for people, he said. The visits are to be similar to blood bank visits as they
will just be on campus if anyone wants to get their status checked.
After this first visit, he said the committee plans to have
them on campus either monthly or every other month.
QCNM may also try to get a group together to do the HIV walk
in September as an institution to help Albuquerque Pride raise money for HIV
research, he said.
The student group, Q-Cats, has been scheduled to be
chartered in August and will be the third level added to the administration-centered
advisory committee and the more social, all-inclusive QCNM.
“The student group will be whatever it wants to create,”
said Rasmussen. “There will be a lot of cross-pollination between the three
different levels, so that people are working with each other across the
different levels in the institution.”
Some of the activities that are discussed between the three
groups during QCNM meetings will be turned over to the Q-Cats for handling, he
said.
QCNM meetings typically happen monthly and allow people from
all different sectors – students, faculty and staff – to create a safe space
and talk about what is going on around the school, the issues that need to be
addressed, what the institution should be doing and what they would like to do,
he said.
“What are some of the fun things we can do to create community on campus, to give people role models, to create networking?” he said.
Part of getting the Q-Cats active is to get them able to do
tabling, which is basically setting up a table to provide people with information,
answer questions and refer to allies in the community when they don’t have the
answers, he said.
QCNM has assembled a kit that includes all kinds of tabling things,
such as brochures, flyers, candy and rainbow tablecloths, that a student, faculty
or staff member would be able to use for events they have requested or set up.
The Facebook page has a lot of content and the website has a
lot of resources, including an Ally List and access to a discrimination and
complaint process, he noted. QCNM also has a listserv, which is qcnm@cnm.edu.
“There’s so many things we’ve been working on,” he said.
QCNM and the committee have worked with various departments
at CNM to change policies around name changes, make sure that almost all the
buildings on the campuses have gender-neutral bathrooms, and provide Safe Zone,
Trans 101 and Trans 201 trainings for faculty and staff, he said.
In addition, they have done community service types of
events and events on campus.
They have set up volunteer days at Roadrunner Food Bank
during which they helped for a few hours in the back, sorted, organized and
shelved food or did whatever needed to be done, he said.
On campus, they have done a movie night and welcome back
mixer. Off campus, they have gone to the Isotopes games a couple times and planned
a Cliff’s Amusement Park day.
“Just showing up as a group,” he said. “Like, ‘Hey, let’s
all go do this fun thing together.’”
The events are not exclusive and anyone is welcome, he said.
Although, he noted, sometimes in creating a safe space, the needs of the
minority community must be prioritized.
Pending approval, they would eventually like to try a
rainbow graduation activity such as a small reception before the ceremony
celebrating the success of the LGBTQ+ group for graduating and maybe giving
them rainbow cords, a button or something they could wear, he said.
QCNM and the advisory committee have worked with multiple
organizations in the community, most of which can be found on the school’s
LGBTQ+ online resource page – http://www.cnm.edu/student-resources/lgbtq/resources.
They have also worked a bit with American Veterans for Equal
Rights (AVER), the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Albuquerque
Pride and the people helping the transgender people at the Cibola Detention
Center, he said.
QCNM started in May of 2017 and the LGBTQ+ Advisory
Committee started in February of 2018 in response to the Orlando shooting and Erica
Barreiro Volkers, the dean of the School of Communication, Humanities and Social
Sciences, took the lead, he said.
The group was organized to compare CNM to other institutions
through a campus index and then think about what the school should be doing. The
whole first year was mostly planning, he said, but things really took off after
that initial meeting.
“We’ve had a really effective group of people in getting a
lot of stuff done,” he said. “It’s really exciting to think, in my not even
three years, like two and some months, of all the things we’ve effected on the
individual student level but also on the systemic institutional level. And more
good stuff coming.”
Rasmussen’s full-time position at CNM is as a staff sign
language interpreter for the Disability Resource Center and the rest of what he
does are basically projects that he has taken up, he said.
“My supervisors have been really kind to support it and they
see that it’s a need,” he said. “As long as my work gets done, I can do this on
the side.”
The CNM van cruised along with the parade while playing some classic tunes.
Participating in the Pride Parade was one of the ways that
QCNM and the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee wanted to raise visibility and create
more equity in the CNM and Albuquerque communities, said Brian Rasmussen, an
organizer for both CNM groups.
The goal for this year’s participation in the parade was to
be bigger and more colorful, he said. In addition to most of the things they
had last year, like the CNM vehicle, the giant rainbow flag and the banner,
this year would also include a second banner, beach balls, a lot of flags and
fans to hand out to spectators.
“Just to get our name out there so that people would see
that CNM is an inclusive place,” he said. “And that there are people in the
institution who are actively working to change policies to create a safer and
more welcome environment.”
As the CNM group marched in the parade, one of the most
gratifying aspects was hearing the love shown by many in the crowd as they
would shout, “We love CNM!” and “Thank you CNM, you gave me my education!” said
Erica Barreiro Volkers, another organizer for the two groups.
“It is so wonderful to have such a personal opportunity to
know how we have touched the lives of so many in our community,” she said.
2018 was CNM’s first year in the parade and it was wholly
organized by the two groups, but after its success, the events office offered
to take it on as an official CNM event, starting in 2019. This allows the
committee and QCNM to focus on their other projects, said Rasmussen.
“We were putting it out to the entire CNM community, just
saying come on out,” he said. “Just show up and show the community how awesome
CNM is.”
Barreiro Volkers said that CNM’s president, Kathryn Winograd, marched with them, as well. “I am so proud that we are now part of the Pride Parade,” said Barreiro Volkers. “I think it is an important way in which we are able to show our CNM and ABQ community that we value and celebrate our LGBTQ+ community members.”
A flag with “We the people means everyone” blows in the wind during the parade.One of the many colorful flags flown in the parade expressing the passion of prideThe Encantada marching band played a variety of tunes to jazz up the paradeThe band played on while having walked more than two miles down Central Avenue.The band decided to stop marching and play for more than two minutes in front of protestors.Officer Matt Chavez of the Albuquerque Police Department voiced his opinion on preventing the anti-LGBTQ+ protestors from disrupting the parade. “I think it’s extremely unfortunate and quite sad that people would protest an event based off of peace and love,” stated Officer Chavez. “But there are always some people that will try and mess that up for everybody, no matter what. I’m just happy that I’m here to ensure that everyone has a good time and that no one goes home hurt.” Rainbows everywhere, participants used their wardrobes to show their pride.The audience dubbed him the “Rainbow Butterfly” after witnessing his multi-colored wings.A lone roller skater greeted the crowd while staying hydrated on the two-mile parade route.Even our furry four-legged friends were in the parade, happily strolling along.This vibrant work of art graced the crowd’s eyes while the parade carried along.Even in space they can rock the rainbow.Boba Fett even decided to show up to the parade!
Photo of instructor, Lila Martinez provided by herself.
CNM is scheduled to add an advanced class to
its new sewing and costuming program in the spring of 2020 and Lila Martinez,
one of the program’s first instructors and curriculum designers, said she is
passionate about art and finding creative ways to help students learn.
The
advanced class will teach students drafting, draping, tailoring, millenary (hat
making), printing fabric, digitizing, and working more in an advanced computer
setting, she said.
“Being
one of the program’s first instructors was exciting because I got to create a
lot of the curriculum for the 101 class and get a lot of feedback from the
students on what they would like to learn,” she said.
Martinez started teaching the subject in the
fall of 2018 and will be teaching the advanced class starting in the fall of
2020, she said. She will also continue teaching the intermediate classes and DeDe
Gonzales has been teaching the introduction classes since her start in the
spring of 2019.
The
students learn very thorough hand sewing and machine sewing skills in the basic
class, Martinez said.
“Many
students who take the basic class never touched a sewing machine, whereas some
of the other students do this for a living, but they still were able to learn
so much,” she said.
One
semester, the students made pillows, stuffed animals and aprons, and a lot of
the students hadn’t even really looked at a commercial pattern before, so it’s
really introducing them to that world, she said.
The
classes are two hours and 45 minutes long, so she said she tries to break them
up by lecturing the first part of class and then introducing the students with
visuals and tutorial links.
Since
students could either go on to a university or right into the working field, she
would like them to be ready for both, she said.
For the
intermediate class, the students had to make an alteration, design garments for
an upcycling project, and participate in creating a stock garment for CNM
theater stock, she said.
“Organizing and maintaining the stock has
actually become a student-created thing, which I am really excited about
because all the costumes hopefully in the future will have been created by
students,” she said.
Every
Thursday, the class watched a film that is costume-focused while the students
worked on projects, she said.
“I like
to approach my classes through the theater and film perspectives, so I always
teach both methods because I am experienced in both worlds,” she said.
Although
the class is really fun, the class does have deadlines, quizzes, and tests, she
said.
Martinez
said she has been in the industry professionally for 15 years and has been
teaching for 10 years.
“I got
the bug when I was 18 during my first year at UNM and have been absolutely
passionate since,” she said.
Martinez
taught at UNM’s Division of Continuing Education, Children’s Choice, children’s
summer camps, and Hardwood Art Center and said she loves to teach children.
Martinez
said she loves and lives by the quote, “The meaning of life is finding your
gift; the purpose of life is sharing it.”
“I see
how much art influenced my life in the most positive ways and I would like to
continue to share that gift with others,” she said.
Martinez
also co-owns the non-profit theatre company, Blackout Theatre, along with
Leonard Madrid (a CNM theatre instructor).
“Our
theatre community here is amazing,” she said.
Martinez
has had other opportunities offered to her in bigger cities but has a special
place in her heart for CNM and is really grounded here, she said.
“I am
really excited to be teaching at CNM and am thankful for Leonard Madrid, Josh Bien,
and Dani Belvin – all the people I graduated UNM with, who are also teaching
here,” she said.
Story and photos by Audrey Callaway Scherer, staff reporter
David Sellers smiled while standing by a coffee station and Street Food Institute sign in the café located on CNM’s Main Campus.
The Street Food Institute is scheduled to further expand its
students’ opportunities to sell their concept foods in about one month when it
opens a second café location in the science research center across the street
from its café on Main Campus, said the Institute’s program director and chef,
David Sellers.
The Street Food Institute (SFI) is a nonprofit small
business incubator that partnered with CNM to teach culinary and
entrepreneurship classes and that sells its students’ products through both the
Main Campus café and its three food trucks, he said.
“The whole point is that we have students who go through the program and who are our employees, and it’s a teaching thing. We’re teaching them how to run a business,” said Sellers. “They are trying to maybe start their own small businesses, so it’s like a little business incubator.”
A sign near the café’s entrance welcomes visitors and lists hours of operation.
In addition to the entrepreneurship lab and lecture, SFI offers an internship through which students work for the café for college credits and are paid on a stipend basis, but also gain work experience, more experience with their business concepts, and for those students who start a business, the ability to use the café’s kitchen and sell their items through SFI.
SFI buys the items wholesale but sells them using the
students’ own packaging, he said. The incubator kitchen gives their businesses
a place to start, some promotion and some sales.
In addition to providing more opportunities for the
students, expansion and sales allow SFI to rely less on grants because of how
it is set up as a 501(c)(3), he said.
“It’s a social enterprise program . . . what we do through
the food sales is generate money to fund our program,” he said. “As we keep
expanding, it offers more opportunities for our students and then as well, it
allows us to rely on less grant funding. It kind of feeds itself in a way.”
Virtually every employee at the SFI, except for the three
main people running the program, have gone through and been hired by the
program, he said. Some will become managers and then most go on to run their
business or become sous chefs at another restaurant.
Because of this cycling in and out of people, the food items
in the café switch up a lot according to the different concepts students are
trying. It currently has two bakers, a coffee micro-roaster, and an empanada person
using the kitchen, he said.
SFI does its own things, like a daily burrito and taco bar,
but also does a lot of special things that involve the students, he said.
There is usually a weekly special, like the recent Greek
lamb gyros and falafels, and random daily specials like their recent doughnuts
and doughnut holes.
The café team also does a lot of special things like Waffle Wednesdays, done by a baker who started Atomic Age Bakery, and pizza on Fridays, done by another baker who started 505 Kalamata, he said. Sometimes 505 Kalamata will do lasagna and other Italian and Greek specials and it also makes the bread for Nick and Jimmy’s restaurant, he said.
A sign in the café details Waffle Wednesday options.
The food trucks do double-duty as catering mechanisms and
for serving out in the public, he said. SFI does all kinds of different things
in the community, such as catering in Santa Fe and at weddings and serving at
Marble Brewery.
“We started with just one food truck across the street, then
we built it up to three trucks and then we got the café, so we kind of just
keep adding onto it,” he said. “We’ve been around for five years and we slowly
build.”
SFI moved into CNM’s cafeteria in January of 2018 when it
became available and was offered to them, and the biggest advantage was that it
centralized the SFI location, he said.
“Previously, we were in a different kitchen, kind of doing
the program at CNM but we were split up and all over the place,” he said. SFI
used a shared space in a community kitchen at the South Valley Economic
Development Center.
“As we grew more and more, it was basically becoming
impossible to stay there and this opened up right at the same time and it was
perfect,” he said.
Not only were they able to open the café and have a
three-dock bay for their three food trucks, but they now do all the cooking for
their catering, food truck sales and everything out of that one kitchen, he
said.
“They’re awesome [at CNM]. They provided us with this kitchen, which is huge, totally huge. Not only is it little cost to us but it generates money,” he said. “And it’s symbiotic. It works for them too because the students benefit from being able to do our program and do their stuff.”
The Street Food Institute’s café displays many of its options on center stations and lists its specials on the glass in front of the food bar.
In addition to offering their program at CNM, SFI offers
basically the same information to members of the community who wouldn’t go to a
college, like undocumented immigrants, very poor people or maybe late career
changers, he said.
Although the internship part is offered in the CNM café, the
classes for these groups are done at Three Sisters Kitchen on Gold Avenue and 2nd
Street, another community-based nonprofit doing culinary education, which is run
by a friend of the SFI team.
A student attending CNM has not only managed to obtain an
internship working with the Carson National Forest Hotshots (CNFH) for the
summer while pursuing three degrees in fire science; Lorenzo Bachelor also
entered himself into the MomoCon 2019 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament
(SSBU).
Photo provided by Lorenzo Bachelor
MomoCon is an annual anime, video game and cosplay
convention that takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, where some of the country’s
top SSBU players gather to test the skills of one another to obtain the prize
of $10,000. With his determination and love of the game, Bachelor believed that
he had what it takes to win the tournament at MomoCon 2019 and planned to fly
back to Albuquerque $10,000 richer.
After realizing that he wasn’t scheduled to start with the
CNFH until early June, Bachelor decided to attend the SSBU tournament in
Atlanta before having to report to the Hotshots for the remainder of his
summer.
“What better way to start my summer than with 10k in my
pocket and the pure adrenaline of working one of the most physically demanding
jobs in New Mexico?” he said.
“Super Smash Bros. has always been a staple of my life since
I was a kid playing on the GameCube,” he said.
Upon becoming more work-oriented later on in his life, he had
to take a break from gaming and focus on his future.
While taking a prolonged break, Bachelor focused heavily on
school and his three fire science degrees, which he is currently in the last
semester of earning.
In a turn of events, Bachelor was approached in 2014 by a
good friend of his who brought him back into the world of Super Smash Bros.
“I didn’t get back into gaming until my friend Koden
convinced me and pretty much taught me the basics of strategy in the game,
which helped me considerably,” he said.
Months after the game’s release, Lorenzo had “delicately
balanced school and gaming” to receive an internship from the CNFH – a highly
skilled and professional 20-person team that specializes in wildfire suppression
and all-risk emergency situations.
Due to the sheer physical demand of this profession, interns
are required to run 1.5 miles in ten minutes or less, do 40 sit-ups in 60
seconds and do a plethora of other challenging exercise requirements that will
be expected upon attendance.
When asked about his favorite character in SSBU, his
response was a very straightforward one. “Kirby has and will always be my main.
I’ve used him since I was a kid and I don’t plan on stopping now,” he said.
Out of 14,320 votes in the SSBU Reddit community, Kirby was
ranked in the “Low Tier +” group, which is the third-to-last tier group in the
game out of 80 characters.
“Kirby gets a lot of hate and that’s always frustrated me
somewhat,” he said. His ability is to gain the ability of those he swallows and
can be a game changer in the middle of a match and people take that for
granted.
MomoCon took place May 23 through May 26 and the SSBU
tournament was streamed live on YouTube.
CNM graduates of the 2018-2019 school year shared the things they loved the most about coming to CNM, the biggest things they learned and their plans moving forward before the graduation ceremony on May 4.
Jerome Willis, Electrical Trades School of Applied Technologies
Jerome Willis, Electrical Trades School of Applied Technologies
Jerome Willis loved everything about his time at CNM,
including his teachers, classes, subject and being in a place where everybody
is there to learn, he said.
He wanted to give a shout out to the Electrical Traders and
highly recommended that anyone with even partial interest in the field take the
first term of electrical trade classes, particularly because of how the
teachers show concern and are assertive in making sure students learn.
Willis was scheduled to start a job with Facebook a couple
weeks after graduation as a critical facilities engineer. He was offered the
job at the end of his year-long internship, which he applied for after Facebook
visited CNM’s campus during his second term in 2018.
Willis may want to go to UNM or return to CNM for a few classes he missed in the future, but as of now he does not need or plan to go in the fall.
Lee Ann Roberts, Business Administration (Fast-Track Program), Bookkeeping Certificate, Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Lee Ann Roberts, Business Administration (Fast-Track Program), Bookkeeping Certificate, Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Lee Ann Roberts said that the faculty and staff at CNM were
outstanding and super supportive and she loved how they were there for the
students and ready to answer questions, give encouragement or the kick in the
pants needed to get work done.
She learned that she had the discipline and courage to go
through a whole new life situation, stick with it and finish with a really good
GPA, she said.
She came to CNM after going through a job change and
realizing that she needed to do something, especially with her kids being
grown. She had attended college in the late 70s and early 80s but did not
graduate.
Doing schoolwork and work outside the home, it was busy for
Roberts, but she is ready for whatever, happy to be done and glad she got to do
it and learn new things she did not know.
She started work at a local plumbing, heating and mechanical
company using her bookkeeping skills, but is working toward and would be happy
to get a job with the government at maybe the county or city level, she said.
“Thank you again to all the CNM people for helping me get
here. It’s been awesome,” she said.
She loved her classes and had a great experience.
Michael Fox, Architectural / Engineering Drafting Technology School of Applied Technologies
Michael Fox, Architectural / Engineering Drafting Technology School of Applied Technologies
Michael Fox loved how there was a lot of one-on-one help at
CNM and said the teachers and staff were awesome. If students are not getting what
they need, they just have to seek it and ask for it because CNM has pretty much
everything, he said.
“Apply yourself – it’s all there,” he said.
He plans to find a job in his field, preferably in the civil sector that would use his experience in design and drafting for work in infrastructure and site planning. Until then, he plans to continue working as a facilities manager at a shooting range. He said the openings he sees online and in the paper are encouraging. He may go to UNM in the future.
Sarah Weschler, Teacher Education and Integrated Studies School of Communications, Humanities & Social Sciences School of Business & Information Technology
Sarah Weschler, Teacher Education and Integrated Studies School of Communications, Humanities & Social Sciences School of Business & Information Technology
Sarah Weschler loved the intimacy of the classrooms, the
teachers and the discussions during her time at CNM and said she wished she had
joined a club.
She learned a lot about diversity and just how many
different types of people in different situations there are, she said.
Weschler plans to go to UNM in the fall to finish her bachelor’s degree in Teacher Education and would eventually like to be a teacher.
Levi Slade, Construction Management Technology with Architectural concentration School of Applied Technologies
Levi Slade, Construction Management Technology with Architectural concentration School of Applied Technologies
Levi Slade’s favorite thing about coming to CNM was the
ability to start new and how people can be any age and be able to come to and
take courses at CNM.
“You’re never too old to learn new stuff. You always have
time,” he said.
Slade graduated with his first degree, which he said took
over 20 years, and plans to start a job working with cabinets. He wanted to
learn some good skills for himself and cabinetry is something he really wanted
to learn in general and for his own house.
Coming to CNM has been a good experience, he said.
Jovana Ferraris, Liberal Arts and Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Jovana Ferraris, Liberal Arts and Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Jovana Ferraris loved how CNM was down-to-earth and how the
teachers cared about making sure students learned the subjects, she said. It
was very one-on-one and teachers didn’t forget students when they needed
something.
She learned how important it was for people to believe in
themselves and looking back, said that she would have come to CNM a lot earlier.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, then it won’t happen,”
she said.
Ferraris plans to continue her education at another college but is not sure if it will be online or at UNM.
Edmundo Villalobos, Electrical Trades School of Applied Technologies
Edmundo Villalobos, Electrical Trades School of Applied Technologies
The thing Edmund Villalobos loved most about coming to CNM
was that students get a lot of help when they look for it, he said.
The biggest things he learned were to not give up and that
it is never too late.
Villalobos plans to use his degree to get a journeyman license and own his own company in the electrical field. He is already working in the field and will not be going to UNM in the fall.
Whisper Evans, majoring in Finance for bachelor’s School of Business & Information Technology
Whisper Evans, majoring in Finance for bachelor’s School of Business & Information Technology
The things Whisper Evans loved the most about CNM were how
diverse the people are, how much the professors cared and how the small
classrooms allowed for more interaction and time with the professors.
The biggest thing she learned while at CNM is that everyone
is like a family and people just need to give a hand and take a hand sometimes.
Everybody will help each other no matter who they are, she said.
Evans was a dual-enrolled high school student during her time at CNM and plans to go to Florida International University in Miami to get a bachelor’s in finance and be an international director of revenue sales so that she can travel the world and get paid as a financial advisor.
Michael Masters-Holderman, Applied Science and Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Michael Masters-Holderman, Applied Science and Integrated Studies School of Business & Information Technology
Michael Masters-Holderman learned a lot about how to work
with people and how to work well with people and said he is happy with the
experiences he has been through because he’s been able to work on so much.
His favorite things about coming to CNM were that the people
were nice, the teachers worked really well with students and there was help
available to students – all really helpful things that many other schools do
not have, especially community colleges, he said.
He wanted to tell students to have as much fun as they can
going to school because although nobody wants to go to school, people have to
work toward something to progress through life.
“What I’m going to do is I’m going to progress through and
I’m going to go forward. That’s what I want,” he said.
Masters-Holderman loves technology and working with it and
switched from architecture to information technology because there is always a
job out there, he said.
He wants to go back to school in the future but will decide
where after he figures out what he wants to do, he said. For now, he will
continue working in the field as an IT technician.
He currently works three jobs – one in a business with a friend, one working on servers and websites in a business with a mentor and one as a delivery driver.
Ginger Blaze, Architectural / Engineering Drafting Technology School of Applied Technologies
Ginger Blaze, Architectural / Engineering Drafting Technology School of Applied Technologies
Ginger Blaze loved that at CNM, students can better
themselves without the pressure of a traditional university, she said. She
loved the friends she made and said the biggest thing she learned was that she
could do it.
Whatever she wanted to do was available to her, from options
being laid out to being able to talk to anyone at any time, she said.
Blaze plans to use the skills she learned to build her own house and eventually make furniture.
John Vialpando, Business Administration School of Business & Information Technology
John Vialpando said he loved the flexibility of going to CNM
and the commitment from the teachers to work with students, especially because
it is hard to get schooling done with other full-time responsibilities, such as
his full-time work and church ministry.
John Vialpando, Business Administration School of Business & Information Technology
He wished he could have taken more classes earlier to reduce
the five years he spent on his associate’s degree and more classes toward his
bachelor’s degree.
He came to CNM to advance in his work with the government
because he was at the top point he could be without a degree, he said.
Important things he wanted to share with the CNM community
included perseverance, patience and not wanting to give up. He dropped out of
UNM about 37 years ago and coming to CNM got him going, he said. He figured
this was a stepping stone.
He will probably continue at CNM for more core classes but is ultimately looking at UNM, Wayland Baptist University or Eastern University to finish his bachelor’s for upper management.
Geraldine Tsosie, Carpentry School of Applied Technologies
Geraldine Tsosie, Carpentry School of Applied Technologies
Geraldine Tsosie loved the skills she learned most while
coming to CNM, particularly metal framing and textures, and the biggest thing
she learned was framing and using the machines.
She started at CNM to take her mind off a domestic violence
situation and completed her degree because after starting, she didn’t want to
quit, she said.
She plans to use the skills from her degree to do work around her house and for personal reasons.
Erick Golden School of Math, Science & Engineering
Erick Golden School of Math, Science & Engineering
Erick Golden plans to transfer to UNM to earn a bachelor’s
degree in mechanical engineering. He also plans to get some experience in
aerospace to pursue his vocation in the research and development of aircrafts.
When asked what he loved about CNM, he responded by saying,
“I really loved the professors and the environment of the school. The classes
are smaller and the professors are more willing to help you, which personally
has always helped me.”
He went on to say, “I didn’t have to leave the classroom
after class to go to a tutoring center because my professor was more than
willing to help me and that helped me out quite a bit.”
After being asked what the most important thing that he
learned at CNM was, he concluded by saying, “Don’t feel afraid to ask questions
and don’t be afraid of your professors.”
He admitted that his greatest regret was that he didn’t ask the questions he wanted to during his first semesters at CNM.
Brittney Dyre School of Math, Science & Engineering
Brittney Dyre School of Math, Science & Engineering
After graduation, Brittney Dyre plans to pursue a bachelor’s
degree at UNM in mathematics.
After being asked what she loved about CNM, she proclaimed
that, “All of the classes were really small, which was awesome because
sometimes it felt like it was one-on-one.”
When Dyre was asked what the most important thing she
learned at CNM was, she said, “I learned a lot about nursing and caring for
people.”
When asked if she had any regrets while attending CNM, she responded with “Nope.”
Robert Arguelles School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety
Robert Arguelles School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety
Robert Arguelles said that upon graduating, he would
continue his occupation of being a New Mexico firefighter.
He loved the flexibility of the courses with his schedule,
in which he said he also took a hefty number of online classes due to how easy
they were to manage in his day-to-day schedule.
Arguelles said the most important thing he learned at CNM was
that, “Distance learning courses require a level of personal accountability and
that self-drive.” He finished by saying that “determination plays a huge part
in distance learning courses.”
When asked if there were any regrets he had while attending CNM, he said, “I believe that everything that I wanted to do or learn, I did. I have no regrets.”
Anastasia Medina School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety
Anastasia Medina School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety
Anastasia Medina was happy to share her future plans after
graduating CNM.
She graduated with a cosmetology license and an associate’s
degree in applied science with which she plans on working at a salon and
starting out as an assistant before becoming a stylist in the coming months.
Upon thinking about the one thing she loved most about CNM,
she stated, “I managed to get a cosmetology license and a degree. I love that
this school helped me achieve that.”
She later said that, “The most important thing I learned at
CNM is that I can do anything! There’s a lot of opportunities here and
resources that you can take advantage of and it’s just an awesome school to be
a part of.”
When asked if she had any regrets, she said that she wished she could have taken school more seriously the first semester instead of partying.
Samona Brown School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences
Samona Brown School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences
Samona Brown was quite excited to graduate upon being
interviewed.
When asked what her plans were after graduation, she said,
“I plan to transfer to New Mexico State University and manage in special
education.”
One of the many things that Brown loved about CNM was that
there were language classes and that she was able to experience American Sign
Language, which geared her towards the vocation of special education.
“I learned about strength, determination and really pushing
through to get what you want,” she said after being asked what the most
important thing she learned at CNM was.
When she was asked if she had any regrets while attending CNM, she responded, “I have many regrets regarding this school, but none of them were educational.”
Albert Henderson III School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences
Albert Henderson III School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences
Albert Henderson III was surrounded by his wife and four
children when he was asked what he planned on doing after graduating CNM.
He responded with, “I plan on taking the LSAT and getting
into law school. I’m really only a couple of credits away from a bachelor’s.”
One thing he loved about CNM was that the school prepared
him to go to the next level.
“I had some things that I needed to work on to attend a
major university, but I think I’ve got that ironed out at the community college
level. It’s a place to get organized and focused into the school environment,
especially if you’ve been out of school for a while.”
When asked what the most important thing he learned at CNM
was, he responded, “I learned that a lot of life is what you make it, so you’ve
got to go out there and find the things to help make you successful and at CNM,
there were a lot of tools available as long as I went out and tried to find
them.”
When asked if he had any regrets from attending CNM, he
looked at his wife and kids and said, “I regret that I didn’t spend more time
with my family.”
