Tag: Daniel Johnson

Hulk SMASHES the Albuquerque Comic Expo

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Hulk SMASHES the Albuquerque Comic Expo

By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter

Ferrigno_as_Hulk
Lou Ferrigno as The Incredible Hulk in 1978.                                                                                                                     Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

Louis Ferrigno, known for his role as The Incredible Hulk, is visiting Albuquerque to make an appearance at the Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE) from June 27 to 29, and expo goers will have a chance to meet and greet with the iconic actor this weekend.

Ace is scheduled to be at the Albuquerque Convention Center located at 401 Second Street NW in the east complex, and passes vary from $20 for a daily pass to $40 for a three-day pass.

Ferrigno, who was born in 1951, said that by the time he was three that he had lost more than 75 percent of his hearing to ear infections which he suffered as a small child.

“Being a person with a disability does not mean that you have to take a second seat to anyone, you have to take action for yourself because others will only respect you as much as you respect yourself,” he said.

A person who has a disability has to be able to give 110 percent, because they have to work harder then others to succeed, he said.

Ferrigno said that has also he suffered from a speech impediment since he was a child and that it had to be overcome by learning to speak with the feeling of how his tongue moved when saying words.

“I am not asking anyone to pat me on the back, because it is all about taking action for yourself and maximizing your own personal power to be the best that you can be,” he said.

Ferrigno said that dealing with people was not the easiest of things for him to do because he was rejected a lot when he was younger.

Everybody has some form of a disability be it physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally, but there is something that all people have that affects the way they perform in life, he said.

“I overcame all of that by body building and building a physique that gave me admiration and respect from others,” Ferrigno said. It is all about individuals taking action for themselves, he said.

In regards to students who struggle with disabilities Ferrigno said being scared to take action is not an option for any student of any age, but especially for students that suffer from a disability.

All students need to embrace their educations and if there is something that they are passionate about, that by all means they need to show that passion for their educations, he said.

Ferrigno’s advice for students with disabilities like him he said is to “not listen to negativity from anyone and always continue to be passionate, because that can be your platform for the future.”

Being in more than 40 films and five different television series has allowed Ferrigno to have the development of a strong fan base and given him opportunities to see the world, to which he said he never let his disability get in the way of these dreams of accomplishing his goals.

Everything from acting to being a Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles County has allowed Ferrigno the opportunity to gain wisdom and experiences that can never be replaced, he said.

“I decided to go through the Sheriff’s academy because I have always been fascinated with law enforcement, since my dad was a Lieutenant in the NYPD and I wanted to be able to give back to the community,” Ferrigno said.

Going through the academy was not easy for him he said because there were multiple different styles of tests besides just physical fitness.

There was a lot of studying, test taking, shooting, driving and high-speed pursuits that he said he had to learn to do somewhat differently with his disability. “It is not something you can just speed through or try to rush,” Ferrigno said.

In regards to Albuquerque he said it is a quit town, and seems to have a nice calm before the storm of the convention this weekend. He said the last time he was in the city was about 20 years ago for a body building competition.

“I love the dry weather here, because back in New York when I was growing up I hated the stickiness of humidity and having to take two showers a day,” he said. A big convention like ACE is something he has never done in New Mexico, he said.

Ferrigno said that he is also excited about this show because there is a great culture in this city, and he trusts he has a huge fan base here. “I am basically here to have a good time and support the ACE Convention and myself,” he said.

It is very exhilarating for him he said because the expo has got comic books, Q & A sessions, as well as expo goers being able to meet with the celebrities, and that this will be a great show for people of all ages.

For more information on the Hulk, the expo’s activities or other celebrity guests attending ACE, go to abqcomicexpo.com.

Days and times Lou Ferrigno will be at the ACE Convention:

Friday, June 27 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 28 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 29 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Autographed photos and posters will be available for purchase and autographs on personal memorabilia will very in cost.

Chemistry instructor makes new tools for disabled students to learn also

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By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter

Chemistry instructor Carol Martinez has taken on quite a chal­lenging task, which is to make science classes and labs more accessible and practical for students with disabilities with the Universal Design Project cre­ated by Martinez.

In the summer of 2013, Martinez said she was approached by the Disabilities Resource Center on behalf of a student who was classi­fied as being disabled with complete blindness, and wanted to take a sci­ence class that was needed to com­plete his Associate degree.

On behalf of the student’s request the DRC encouraged an adaptation to the curriculum for Chemistry 1410 and 1492, so the Math Science and Engineering department began work­ing on a process to achieve that goal, Martinez said.

One of the main things that the chemistry class focuses on is called peri­odic trends of the periodic table and the books have many figures that address that, but there is no way for a person who is not sighted to figure out what those trends are, she said

“I made a couple of three dimen­sional charts to show what those trends are,” Martinez said.When the subject matter was discussed in the classroom the visually impaired student was able to use the tactical learning tools to feel out what was being discussed, she said.

The tactile tools used were able to help the other students in class, as well as assisting the student who the tools were intended for, so everyone is ben­efiting from this new project, she said.

“With me purchasing a few items, as well as using some of my creative ingenuity, I was able to make other tools that proved to be useful to the student,” she said.A lot of the tools that were used to benefit this student were used for the first time, so it took a lot of work on behalf of the student and the supporting staff to help achieve the goals that were set, she said.

Many tools were purchased to accommodate the student by the MSE department, such as an atomic tactile model set to differentiate between pro­tons and electrons, as well as a talking scale, talking thermometer and talking colorimeter, she said.

“It was great to be able to see the student use all of these items to achieve the same level of learning and participa­tion as all the other students in the class,” Martinez said.

Tutor at Montoya campus Maria Stevens said the student had been a reg­ular visitor to the tutoring center, and it was already known that he benefited from tactile learning tools, but that online work was tough for him.

However, with the challenges set fourth though, the student still showed a level of dedication that is rarely seen, she said.

“The idea of coming up with new ways to help students that have different needs than most was a challenge that we at the tutoring center had fun taking on,” she said.

If the student had something set up to remind himself physically of what he was trying to remember mentally it made the learning process easier for him, she said.

Stevens said that the reading and writing portions of the class were tough for him, but that giving him a support­ive foundation of extra curriculum helped him to succeed.

“I believe that we were helpful because he would not have been able to achieve his goals without the use of the tactile tools, and different tutors and teachers being there to support him,” Stevens said.

Martinez said there are materials available for students with disabilities, but are not designed to reach the spe­cific needs of each individual with dif­ferent incapacities.

The student in question was recently affected with blindness Martinez said, so his ability to read in brail was not that great and buying a book in brail would have been no better than giving the book to someone who could not read English.

Stevens said the idea of being able to provide enough equipment to anybody that wants an education is some­thing that the school would like to see as a whole even if it is not financially possible.

This experience is why it is nice to see teachers and tutors working together to

provide different forms of learning materials to help out students, she said.

“We are going to try to meet the needs of all indi­viduals that need assistance, be it hearing impaired, blind or any other kind of disability in any subject that they may be taking,” she said.

Stevens said that Martinez has helped to develop the working relationship between this student’s class and the tutoring center and that makes her a truly standup kind of individual.

Now, if any other students need special assistance similar to this case or with new challenges it will be the responsibility of the Universal Design Project to try and create or provide the needed equipment, she said.

“I am more then willing to take what I have cre­ated and use it to teach any and all students with spe­cial needs that need chemistry classes for their degrees. Since everybody has different learning styles, it only seems right to try and find a way to teach everybody in any way that is needed,” she said.

In August, all of the tools that were made to help the particular disabled student last spring, will be presented at the bi-annual conference on chemical education in Grand Rapids Michigan Martinez said, where hopefully these new tools created can be used to teach disabled students at all levels of science and chemistry education.

AWS Student Chapter Welding club builds stronger frame for students

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By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter

The American Welding Society sets the national standards for all things welding and is a highly respectable origination throughout many of the careers that are available to students in the applied technolo­gies program at CNM, said Welding major and President of the AWS Student Chapter, Henno Van Arkel.

Students must be enrolled in welding classes and pay a $15 fee to be members of the CNM AWS chapter, he said.

“Fifteen dollars is a small price for someone like me to pay to receive all the knowledge and oppor­tunities that come with being a member of this group,” Van Arkel said.

Being a member offers many benefits, such as an emailed version of the monthly AWS pub­lication, as well as schol­arships and networking opportunities, along with many other prospects for welding students, he said.

Welding major and Communications Coordinator of the AWS, Genevieve Brechtel said the club participates in field trips, as well as presen­tations by guest speak­ers and different types of special projects.

“We as stu­dents and members of the AWS helped with the construction of the smoking shelters that are going to be placed at different locations throughout the CNM main campus,” she said.

The group is also involved with com­munity service projects, she said.

One of the proj­ects that AWS will host is going to have eighth graders come to CNM and learn about the basics of welding and how to read blueprints, Brechtel said.

Metals Technology major and Secretary of AWS, Zach Lopezsaid members of the club helped out with the state Skills USA com­petition this past spring.

“I was able to make sure the machines that were being used stayed operational throughout the competition, as well as making sure the stu­dents had all the stuff they needed to com­pete,” he said.

The AWS Student Chapter will also be help­ing with the Applied Technologies Boot Camps that CNM will be offer­ing in June and July for local high school students, Lopez said.

Metals Technology major and Historian of AWS, Elliot Reddinger said the club also ran the welding simulators for the high school stu­dents that came to CNM main campus for Career Technical Education Day.

“The welding simu­lators are pretty cool because they are like 3-D games that are scored based on how well a person welds,” he said.

Trying to get welding students to come together and participate as a whole is another objective of the club, he said.

Reddinger said weld­ing can be really competi­tive but that the club wants the students to know that while they are here they are like a family.

A fellow student might be somebody’s main competition for a job after they leave school, but while students are in school they should be able to learn and feed off of each other to become the best welders that they can be, he said.

“We have raffles and get togethers, like barbeques for the weld­ing program as a whole, so students can have an opportunity to get to know their peers,” Reddinger said.

Van Arkel said the club allows students an opportunity to net­work with local and state employers.

“It’s nice because you don’t only get the opportunity to know what job opportunities are out there you actually get to meet the people that hire employees on a one-to-one basis,” he said.

If a student is moti­vated then this club can help to make the roll over to the real world easier, he said.

Reddinger said a person has to be involved with other things outside of just working hard in the classroom.

“Employers don’t just want to see good grades anymore, they want to be able to see that a stu­dent is committed to their trade and involved with it,” he said.

When students grad­uate they want to be on top and a student needs to be able to have the ability to say that they did some­thing extra— this club will allow a student to do that, he said.

It is a really great opportunity for anyone who wishes to do more with his or her life then just have a possible job after graduation, he said.

Brechtel said the AWS student chapter has seen its up and downs due to the turnover rate, because of students gradu­ating and moving on.

“We would love to see more students come in and participate on a regular basis, so that the club does not see big one year (of participation), then little the next, we want a more consistent flow of students through the club,” she said.

Lopez said the club has meetings every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the W building on Main campus and every­one is invited to come check it out.

“Even if you are not in the applied technologies program you can come and check us out to see if it is something you might want to get into,” he said.

Ken Chappy Hall gets facelift, removes hazards

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By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter

Parts of Ken Chappy Hall have under­gone asbestos and lead paint removal in preparation for the creation of a new faculty office space said Director of Communications and Media relations, Brad Moore.

CNM has removed the asbestos in Ken Chappy Hall in compliance with city, state and federal laws, including the city of Albuquerque, Environmental Protection Agency, New Mexico Environmental Department and OSHA, he said.

“All rooms that are currently open in Ken Chappy Hall are safe to use”, Moore said.

Asbestos is not dangerous until it is disturbed and becomes airborne, where it can be inhaled or ingested by people, he said.

The asbestos abatement was done so the area can be safely remodeled to provide new faculty office space, he said.

There was recently an addi­tion of new furni­ture and some other minor upgrades to the SAGE instructor office spaces prior to the asbestos removal in Ken Chappy Hall, but is now being renovated in a much more comprehensive and structural way to provide more space for faculty and the offices they use, he said.

When this current renovation is com­plete, faculty from CHSS, MSE and SAGE will occupy the new office spaces, he said.

This project is in conjunction with the CNM Master Plan to provide centralized faculty office locations on Main campus, he said.

“This will hopefully encourage more collaboration among faculty members,” Moore said.

The instructors who were in the space that is being renovated are now located temporarily in classrooms in Ken Chappy, he said.

More space is now available in Ken Chappy because the registration office for Adult Basic Education classes has been moved to the recently remodeled Student Services Center, he said.

“Ken Chappy Hall is the only location that needs this kind of attention at this time,” Moore said.

The construction cost for the Ken Chappy renovation project, including the asbestos abatement, is $670,000, said Moore.

The removal of asbestos has been com­pleted and the faculty office renovation is expected to be completed around the start of the 2014 fall term, he said.

“If other buildings become pinpointed for renovations, and they are older build­ings, studies will be done to determine if there are any dangerous substances such as asbestos that require special attention prior to any renovations,” he said.

When a building has been chosen for renovation, many studies are done to evaluate whether there are dangerous materials within the structure, including studies to determine whether asbestos is present, he said.

Buildings built prior to the early 1980s could have asbestos inside them in inaccessible areas like inside walls or above the ceilings, he said.

The reports from these studies are used to determine how a building is reno­vated, he said.

The contractor for this project was KEERS Remediation Inc., and they special­ize in the safe removal of asbestos, he said.

They are thoroughly trained in removing asbestos and disposing of it properly, he said.

An inspector from the New Mexico Environmental Department checked the site on Thursday, May 22, and confirmed that the project was being conducted appropriately and safely, he said.

KEERS Remediation Inc. Service Coordinator, Emily Sanchez said the removal of the asbestos went as planned and finished on schedule.

“The crew that worked out at CNM ran into no hiccups or problems during the removal process which was a good thing,” she said.

Upon completion of the removal a test sample was sent to a third party tester and all results returned as negative, she said.

Currently KEERS Remediation is not working on any other projects on CNM campuses, Sanchez said.

New culinary club on campus gives new student opportunities

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By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter | Photo by Daniel Johnson

Issue 2 Volume 20

Having a club that will allow culi­nary students to step out of the classroom and be able to learn new things is a great opportunity, said Culinary Arts major Jessica Vallejos.

The High Altitude Culinaraian Organization was organized to con­nect students with the local community as well as work with different organiza­tions in the culinary field to provide different types of learning experiences to students so they will know where and to whom they might like to take their degrees to in the future, she said.

“We are going to be doing tast­ings and tours of different restau­rants and companies around the state, which will let us have a chance to taste yummy food that we would not nor­mally experience,” Vallejos said.

Culinary major Kattia Rojas said an opportunity to be more involved with local restaurants and how they make decisions on their menus is extremely beneficial for her.

The major thing is that we get to learn advanced skills and gain a further knowledge of culinary arts, she said.

“If someone loved cooking or thought of cooking as a passion, this club allows them to build up that love and express it in new ways,” she said.

Faculty Advisor and part-time Culinary Arts instructor, Chef Brianna Dennis said the club will take field trips to dif­ferent culinary organizations for off site learning experience as well as work in house by learning how to utilize new techniques in the kitchen.

The club will participate in different types of competitions as well, which are held in the state and will hopefully create more in house competitions for culinary students, she said.

Culinary major Alyx Lopez said another benefit of this club will be that members will be able to get the CNM name out there and be able to compare ourselves to the rest of the city and state.

“The public will no longer be clueless about the fact that CNM has a legit culinary program,” he said.

Culinary major Krystal Torres said, the new club is an opportunity to get the CNM culinary program out to the public.

“This club will allow me to be more involved with the local community, as well as give me real world experience to better prepare myself for a future in the culinary world,” she said.

Chef Dennis said, the club will be able to put the CNM Culinary program in the eyes of the state with an opportunity to give stu­dents the connections they need to survive in this industry.

“Even though this club is still pretty new to CNM there is a lot of potential for the local community, school, and us as students and mem­bers to benefit from what this club has to offer,” Vallejos said.

Chef Dennis said the club is going to be working with the Farm and Table Restaurant at 8917 Fourth St NW at an upcoming event for the club members.

The event will be a tasting of foods that are professionally prepared by this restaurant that has its own farm located on the property, assur­ing the product that is provided is as fresh as possibly can be, she said.

This event will be great for the group to experience what it is like to eat locally grown and organic foods that are served at Farm and Table’s restaurant quality standards, she said.

Another project will be a gas­tronomy day, where the club mem­bers will be working first hand with the advancements that have been made in molecular gastronomy in the kitchen, Dennis said.

Lopez said, molecular gastron­omy is definitely something that is unique and not covered in most basic culinary classes.

“We are going to be able to make different kind of unique sweets and I can’t wait to try them and see how they are different than regular sweets, because that seems really interesting,” he said.

This club is going to provide us with opportunities to explore new ideas that are being introduced to the culinary industry, Lopez said.

Torres said the club will be involved with the school by running the new retail outlet area, where stu­dent made foods will be sold to raise money and get people excited about the culinary program.

The retail area for these foods is located in the RPM building on Main campus, she said.

“It will be nice to see us getting food made by the students out to the students with the use of this space,” she said.

Chef Dennis said the selling of foods out of the on site retail space will help fund the club and the culi­nary program.

The ability to provide a dining experience out of the RPM build­ing in the dinning classroom is something that is being set up for the future, she said.

The club became an official CNM student organization in January of 2014, she said.

“This club was my creation on behalf of students, so they could learn more in the culinary world that is not offered by the culinary program,” Dennis said.

The club has an application process as well as a $10 fee, that students must pay to become a member, she said.

The club is available to all stu­dents in the Culinary program, but it is preferred that they have at least received credit for the principles of safety and sanitation class prior to submitting an application, she said.

“Students that want to take a chance at thinking out of the box or just want to see if they have what it takes to work in this industry, can contact me at bdennis10@cnm. edufor applications or more informa­tion about the club,” Dennis said.

Talk turkey to me; New fitness bowling class offered

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By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter | Photos by Daniel Johnson

Bowling

After a year of planning and organizing, the new Bowling Class is no longer just Turkey talk at CNM, said Health and Fitness instructor Scott Romero.

FITT course 2096 is a fitness special topics class that is designed to educate students about the language, scoring, and rules of all things bowling, he said.

“Students will learn defi­nitions of terms like a strike, spare, and how three strikes in a row is a Turkey as well as the basic rules and eti­quette of what it takes to be a professional style bowler,” Romero said.

The summer semes­ter will have class at 10 a.m. on Friday mornings at Silva Lanes, and students will spend time learning the scor­ing process t h e way it had been done in the past, he said.

With the technology that is available today, all people have to do is throw the ball at the pins and the computer will figure out the score for them, he said.

“I want students to know how and why they are get­ting the scores they are which is why I make them do hand written score cards,” Romero said.

What size of ball should be used, and how to hold or throw one is also discussed in detail as part of the core cur­riculum, he said.

The fitness benefits of bowling are also part of the curriculum, he said.

Bowling allows a person to burn calories while build­ing muscle and working on cardio, he said.

“It is great physical activ­ity as long as you are not up at the snack bar buying nachos or food in-between every game,” Romero said.

The spring semester of 2014 was the initial semester that the Bowling class was offered and a total of 40 stu­dents in two separate classes had passed the FITT 2096, he said.

“After the first two weeks of class most of the students were complain­ing of sore arms because of the physical strain bowl­ing can have on the body, Romero said.

As an instructor, a desired outcome does con­sist of student improvement in the field of study, but with bowling it is also nice to see the camaraderie that devel­ops between a student and his peers, he said.

Students worked with one another and rooted for each other no matter what their gender, race, or age had been, he said.

“The positive psychologi­cal affect that this class has had on some of these students was an amazing sight for me to see,” said Romero.

Students have claimed that this class is a great way to relax and relieve stress since it is not based in a classroom like normal classes, he said.

One student is actu­ally taking the class again just because of the amount of fun he had in the spring semester, he said.

“Anybody who takes this class will see how much fun it is to be able to get out of the classroom and talk with friends while burning some calories. It is an awesome class,” said Romero.

The collaboration between CNM and Silva Lanes has set students up with some special perks, as Silva has generously set up dis­counts for students on items at the snack bar during class times, he said.

“Silva Lanes allowed a student in the spring semester to purchase one of their slandered rental balls at a discounted price, so he could use it anywhere he chose to play, just because he showed a love for the game,” Romero said.

The opportunity to work with CNM and interact with the students is wonder­ful, said Silva Lanes Manager Diana Silva.

“When Mr. Romero approached us with the idea of this class we decided to back him one-hundred percent,” she said.

The process of setting up this class went well and it is a unique opportunity to allow students to get out and be active, Silva said

Silva Lanes wants to encourage the students to con­tinue on with bowling if they find it to be something they enjoy, she said.

“We have also set up a discounted program for stu­dents to come and enjoy one game of bowling daily on us,” she said.

A person just needs to show their current CNM student I.D. and pay the shoe rental fee and they can bowl a free game every day over the summer, she said.

It is not recommended that you take advantage of this offer on Friday or Saturday nights though, since it is so busy, she said.

I would love to see the size of the class get bigger and more competitive, so students can try to move on to tourna­ments and bigger competi­tions,” Silva said.

Romero said required materials for students consist of pen, paper, and an average log.

A student will then keep their average throughout the semester, so they can see how much they have improved from the start of class, he said.

The class also has a $30 lab fee that covers lane, ball, and shoe rentals, he said.

For more information on this new, fun, and innovative class that gets students out of the class and onto the lanes, contact Scott Romero at sromero141@cnm.edu.

Graduating with flying colors

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By Nick Stern, Copy Editor, and Daniel Johnson, Inves­tigative Reporter | Photo by Daniel Johnson

graduation

CNM’s spring graduation cer­emony was held on Saturday, May 3 at Tingley Coliseum where, for the first time in the college’s his­tory, students involved with the brand new dual-credit College and Career High School walked with the rest of the graduates.

A total of 659 students from all the schools at CNM partici­pated in the graduation ceremony, 85 were GED graduates and nine were College and Career High School graduates.

The CCHS graduates were the very first students to be enrolled in the new program which gave them a chance to finish their high school diploma while simultaneously earning a college certificate, two-year degree, or credits toward a bachelor’s degree, which would place them ahead of the game the following college semester in their college careers.

The ceremony also imple­mented the use of new massive flat screen projectors of the event that lined each side of the stage, and allowed for a much better view of the proceedings, since Tingley Coliseum is such a large venue.

Director of Communications Brad Moore said that the addition of the new rear flat screen pro­jectors where audience members could see loved ones close up for the first time at graduation was a fruitful decision and improved the view for everyone, especially the family members of graduates.

“Adding the video boards was a way for CNM to provide family members and supporters much better views of the graduates and the ceremony on stage. The video boards were a great addition to the ceremony,” Moore said.

A local celebrity was also cre­ated when dual schooled student, Emily Watson graduated with her associate’s in liberal arts and studio arts degrees alongside her parents, and doing so before even finishing her high school diploma.

Emily Watson walked with her mother, Kelly Watson who received degrees in general studies, liberal arts, history and fine arts, and her father Jarrod Watson who received a degree in drafting, liberal arts, and a certificate in general studies, she said.

Emily Watson and her par­ents were pleasantly surprised and excited when they realized they were so close to graduating at the same time and decided they would make the plans which eventually put all three of them in their caps and gowns at the exact same time, Kelly Watson said.

“It is kind of amazing that it worked out that way. We did not have any idea it was going to track like that until the last year and we started planning our final year and were like ‘I think this is going to happen,’” Kelly Watson said.

As a family of mostly stu­dents, they had to sell one of their cars and soon after, while Emily and Kelly Watson wound up carpooling with the second car, Jarrod Watson made use of the CNM bus pass to get to his ATC courses, Emily Watson said.

Jarrod Watson even made a color-coded spreadsheet which was used to figure out how to make everyone’s school sched­ules fit together with the rest of their time and transportation, Kelly Watson said.

“She and I would try to schedule 95 percent of our classes together and online whenever possible. It actually worked out alright,” Kelly Watson said.

Roughly two weeks after the CNM graduation ceremony, Emily Watson also walked with her fellow high school students at the graduation ceremony for the SAMS Academy where she was the student speaker.

Emily Watson plans on going to UNM to study art education with the hopes of getting a job teaching children with disabilities, she said.

Emily Watson’s advice to any and all CNM students who may need it was to make sure to persevere no matter how rough the road may seem to be.

“Do not give up. It is not easy but as long as you just keep going you’ll make it —every day just start over fresh,” Emily Watson said.

Kelly Watson also had simi­larly wonderful advice for stu­dents, which was to encourage them to stay positive and take smaller steps towards the larger goal by not obsessing over the uncertainty of the future, she said.

“Every day is just one day closer to the end so you just have to do it one day at a time, sometimes when it gets rough,” Kelly Watson said.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony was the Honorable Judge Willow Misty Parks, who on top of being a CNM alumna, was also voted in as the distinguished CNM Alumna by the Alumni Foundation.

Parks’ speech involved a recol­lection of her remarkable and inspi­rational story of her journey from the pursuit of her education to her induction as Bernalillo’s one and only probate judge.

The student speaker was computer information systems major Regina Thompson, whose speech seemed to not only cap­tivate the audience, but also suc­ceeded in capturing quite a few laughs from the crowd.

In her speech, Parks talked about her challenge of summing up everything she had gone through with just 500 words and ended the speech by jokingly saying, “500 words!? I can’t do that.”

The speech’s ending seemed to almost poke fun at the first feel­ings of hesitation that she and many others have undoubtedly had about being able to get through college, and like her speech, she and 659 stu­dents were able to graduate after all.

Graduate Chit Chat

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By Nick Stern, Copy Editor, and Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter | Photos By Daniel Johnson

What are your plans?

What was your favorite thing about CNM?

Zach ary Arbogast, aviation maintenance degree, AT “I just was recently hired on at Eclipse Aerospace so I’m basically their aircraft mechanic full-time.” “The aviation program itself is really well setup. They’ve got a lot of stuff to offer. The price for the program was really good.”
Zach ary Arbogast,
aviation maintenance degree, AT
“I just was recently hired on at Eclipse Aerospace so I’m basically their aircraft mechanic full-time.”
“The aviation program itself is really
well setup. They’ve got a lot of stuff to offer. The price for the program was really good.”
Sgeve Urvina, Fire science, HWPS “Bachelor’s degree. Maybe in Arizona.” “Everything about it. The teachers and I’d say just about everything.”
Sgeve Urvina,
Fire science, HWPS
“Bachelor’s degree. Maybe in Arizona.”
“Everything about it. The teachers and I’d say just about everything.”
Lavette Hernandez, Integrated Studies, BIT “I’m going to continue to go to nursing school. I’m transferring to UNM. Just trying to make a living—a good one.” “My favorite is just the company. The people, they’re awesome.”
Lavette Hernandez,
Integrated Studies, BIT
“I’m going to continue to go to nursing school. I’m transferring to UNM. Just trying to make a living—a good one.”
“My favorite is just the company. The people, they’re awesome.”
Justin Srader, liberal arts, CHSS “I’m going to UNM to get my bachelor’s in environmental science, minor in engineering, and then hopefully go to grad school.” “My favorite thing would probably be the small classes. How it was very interactive and you can get a lot of help from the teachers and stuff.”
Justin Srader,
liberal arts, CHSS
“I’m going to UNM to get my bachelor’s in environmental science, minor in engineering, and then hopefully go to grad school.”
“My favorite thing would probably be the small classes. How it was very interactive and you can get a lot of help from the teachers and stuff.”
Maryah Chmura, GED “I’m going to start summer classes at CNM. I already registered and everything.” “It got me in right away and I got everything done and now I’m finally moving on to the next step so I’m excited about that.”
Maryah Chmura,
GED
“I’m going to start summer classes at CNM. I already registered and everything.”
“It got me in right away and I got everything done and now I’m finally moving on to the next step so I’m excited about that.”
Hunter Farvour, Business, CCHS “I will attend CNM this following semester then I will proceed to go to UNM.” “My favorite was I guess getting to know my fellow seniors and it was really easy since there were only nine of us.”
Hunter Farvour,
Business, CCHS
“I will attend CNM this following semester then I will proceed to go to UNM.”
“My favorite was I guess getting to know my fellow seniors and it was really easy since there were only nine of us.”
Brittney White, Biology, MSE “I’m going to go to UNM in the fall and I’m going to pursue a bachelor’s in biology and hopefully graduate and I want to do the PHD program there too.” “My favorite thing was my professors. I really liked my biology professor because I like biology.”
Brittney White,
Biology, MSE
“I’m going to go to UNM in the fall and I’m going to pursue a bachelor’s in biology and hopefully graduate and I want to do the PHD program there too.”
“My favorite thing was my professors. I really liked my biology professor because I like biology.”

Business major brings out the beauty underneath

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By Dan Chavez, Staff Reporter | Photos by Daniel Johnson and courtesy of popejoans.com

Liesse Jones, Business Administration major, founded her own business, Pope Joans, with a mission to make women feel confident and beautiful, and to challenge harmful stan­dards of beauty, she said.

Jones sells handmade lin­gerie made of natural materials, including silk, bamboo, and cotton, which is treated with natural dyes, she said.

Jones only works with materials that are not harm­ful to the environment and designs her garments to be comfortable to wear and to boost self-esteem, she said.

In the creation of Pope Joans, she took the concept of natural beauty and rendered it to an idea incorporating per­sonal health, confidence, self-esteem, and care for the envi­ronment, she said.

“To me it made sense that if you feel beautiful in your undergarment, then anything you put on top of that is just going to exude self-confidence,” she said.

Jones mainly sells her products through her web­site, popejoans.com, but she also has two stores that sell her clothing line: Headliners, a full service salon, and the Octopus and the Fox, a local store that supports local busi­nesses, she said.

She also hosts private events, where five to ten women meet, are served champagne and chocolates, and purchase custom made lingerie, which are a lot of fun, she said.

“And a couple of times a year I do big shows for business events,” she said.

Jones hosted a show on Nov. 30 promoting her cloth­ing line as well as some acces­sories and she said 15 to 20 friends, supporters and poten­tial customers were in atten­dance at any given time, many of them leaving with their pur­chases, while others gleefully entered the front door.

Like all of her shows, there was a spread of refresh­ments and snack foods, and Jones’s products were dis­played for sale on various tables and hangers, she said.

She said that these events are good for sell­ing merchandise as well as spreading the word about her business, and that many people attend these events knowing they will be making a purchase and set aside finances for it.

“I had a great time and I think it’s been successful so far. People seem to be happy, enjoying the food and it’s a great time for me and other artists to mingle,” she said.

As she began her journey into design, Jones said she was accepted into a fashion show for Toronto Art and Fashion Week.

Although she was thrilled at the opportunity, she noticed that the fashion was to select only extremely thin models for the runway, she said.

She felt that it is harmful for women in society when being super skinny is trendy and popular as it promotes a negative body image, she said.

Since the Toronto Fashion show, Jones has endeavored to create lingerie that makes women feel better about them­selves, she said.

“I love the fashion part of it but for me it’s really a tool to kind of make social change,” she said.

Jones said she operates her company while attend­ing several classes at CNM, which is constantly a frantic effort at keeping pace with all her deadlines.

She usually works about 60 hours a week at her business on top of the hours she works as a student, she said.

“Right now, especially entering the Christmas season which is my busiest time of the year, it’s a huge time crunch to maintain my class work and prepare for the holiday season,” she said.

Despite her hectic schedule, Jones feels that attending business courses at CNM has helped her learn the details of managing her business, she said.

She has felt that the classes she has attended thus far have applied to her business quite nicely, she said.

In her entrepreneurial class, Jones has had lessons on developing a business concept, conducting market research, and feasibility tests to make sure this is a sound business idea, she said.

“I already did a lot of that stuff for the company I own, but I’m interested right now in kind of moving this company forward and changing the way I run it a little bit, so I have been able to do all that market research more in depth and apply it to where I want to be in my company,” she said.

Jones runs her business entirely as a sole proprietor with no employees or partners, and because she produces all the lingerie and accessories while managing the operations side of her business, her work­load can become tremendous, she said.

Jones said she personally creates her clothing line from the design all the way to the finished product.

She has considered hiring a seamstress to take a large portion of the work off her own shoulders, she said.

“It’s a lot, especially right now I’m really busy with orders, which is great but I have to personally fill all of them,” she said.

Last year’s business caught Jones by surprise and she worked very hard to fill all the online orders as they came in, she said.

The holiday season is among her busiest times and she found herself unprepared for the number of orders from her clients, many of whom reside in Canada, Albuquerque, and various areas within the U.S., she said.

Despite the deadlines and heavy workload, Jones said she loves it when she receives more orders for her products.

“It feels pretty good. It’s pretty rewarding,” she said.

Jones encourages shop­pers, especially during the Holiday season, to support and purchase from local business because they need local community members in order to keep their doors open, and shoppers can pick up some very unique gifts that cannot be found any­where else, she said.

She also encourages future entrepreneurs to find their passion as they seek out a business idea, she said.

“Make sure you love it because it is a lot of work and you have to focus all your time and energy on what you do. If it’s not anything that you put your whole heart into, it won’t be successful and it won’t be worthwhile,” she said.

To check out Jones’ fash­ions go to popejoans.com.4.3 4.2 4.1