Community News

Interdisciplinary Studies major and basketball player Brooke Rodgers is an aspiring screenwriter. She is seen here during filming of the Amazon Prime TV series "The College Tour," which filmed on the WNMU campus in NovemberBrooke Rodgers will be a featured cast member on the hit Amazon Prime TV series "The College Tour." Link to full story at the end of this article.

Brooke Rodgers started her college career in San Francisco, California, but when WNMU Head Women's Basketball Coach Josh Pace reached out to her, she was ready to make a change. She was anxious to leave the big city, to be closer to her family in Phoenix and to find a university that would allow her to better balance her academic life with the demands of playing collegiate basketball. "I knew Coach Pace would get me to where I wanted to be as a player," she said.

WNMU BSN graduates recite the Nightingale Pledge at their pinning ceremony, Dec 7, 2023. Fall 2023 graduates received a 100% passing rate on the NCLEX examSILVER CITY, NM—The WNMU Nursing program's recent pre-licensure BSN graduates have a 100% passing rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the test that is required to become licensed as a nurse. The most recent national average passing rate for baccalaureate students is approximately 90%.

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing and Kinesiology (SONAK) Kim Petrovic attributed the success in part to state appropriations to the university, which allowed SONAK to make substantial changes to its prelicensure BSN curriculum.

Southwest New Mexico ACT

We are excited to share with you all that we have been up to!

Southwest New Mexico ACT exists to preserve, enhance, and sustain rural economic development initiatives and the creative economy in southwestern New Mexico. We spearhead community collaboration through cultural and historic preservation; sponsor and engage the region in arts and cultural events; inspire and promote outdoor recreation, education, and tourism initiatives.

NM Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing  -  Vicki Galindo of The Arc of New Mexico
Lillian Galloway of the Silver City Public Library Library for the Blind and Print Disabled New Mexico State Library Rural Services

See pdf flyer below

WNMU alumna Blanca Jaure credits the university for setting her on the path toward achieving her PhD. She is picture here during filming of an upcoming episode of the Amazon Prime TV series "The College Tour.Blanca Jaure will be a featured cast member on the hit Amazon Prime TV series "The College Tour." Full press release link at end of article.

When Violeta "Blanca" Jaure (BA '06) was pregnant with her first child while living in Albuquerque twenty-two years ago, she knew she had to return to Silver City, where she had grown up and where her family lived. What she did not foresee was how that choice would be pivotal in her educational journey.

"I didn't even go to high school," said Jaure, "I kind of was a high school drop-out here in Silver City. I didn't feel like I really belonged in the high school, so I ended up getting my GED."

Ariana Medina was an understudy for the Amazon Prime episode of "The College Tour" that filmed on the WNMU campus in November. Link to article about film at end of this article.

When she was considering her college options, nursing major Ariana Medina (BAS '22) did not just stumble upon WNMU; both of her parents are alumni of the university, and her mother works for WNMU.  Medina said she was inspired by her parents' experiences.  "They both said they were very fortunate to have [a strong support system] as they were going through their educational journey," said Medina, "so that was more or less my inspiration for wanting to attend Western New Mexico University."

Since starting at the university, she has seen that kind of strong support first-hand.

Said Medina of WNMU, "There are smaller class sizes, and you are not identified as a number here. You are an actual person and your professors know you, and you can seek that interaction with them when needed."

The support network extends beyond the classroom, Medina said. "There is no shortage of opportunities" at WNMU, she said, "You have resources at every corner within your staff and faculty that are willing to take the extra step and mentor you in not only pursuing your education, but they can connect you and network you with other job opportunities. Here, you have those opportunities, and they are easier to grasp than really anywhere else."

Medina used these opportunities to earn her first bachelor's degree in Rehabilitation Services and is now working toward a degree in Nursing. "I have always had a vision for helping people," she explained, "especially people in rural communities."

This desire to help has led her to a job as a Certified Nurse Assistant at Gila Regional Medical Center, where she primarily provides bedside care.

"Not many people can say they love their job, and I really do love my job very much," she said, "I love what I do, and I am excited to experience it on a different spectrum once I finish school . . . It has been nice to get some experience on top of getting the education itself."

Explaining her passion for nursing, Medina said, "Someone comes in to the hospital, and they are ill, they are terrified, or they hurt; I wanted to be their advocate and their support system at that time."

Medina said that she is committed to "helping someone at a very difficult time and really just being there as their hand to hold and for them to lean on." She added that it this was important "not just for them [the ill or injured person] but also to support their families."

Her experiences so far have shown her that nursing can be profoundly demanding in addition to being rewarding. "It can on different levels be overwhelming," she said, "but I love it."

https://www.grantcountybeat.com/events-calendars/local-events/82907-the-college-tour-mustang-edition

WNMU student Antonio Guerrero (center) plays the vihuela with Mariachi Plata de WNMU. He is seen here during production of "The College Tour," Nov. 7, 2023Antonio Guerrero is a featured student in the upcoming Amazon Prime TV episode of "The College Tour" that was filmed on campus in November. Press release for event at end of article.

Even before he set foot in a classroom on campus, first year student Antonio Guerrero Ramos was immersed in Mariachi Plata de WNMU.

A graduate of Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque, Guerrero was in Silver City last June for El Son de la Gila, a mariachi conference sponsored by WNMU, and for ¡Fiesta Latina!, the annual celebration of New Mexico's connection with its Mexican heritage, customs and traditions.

"We hit the ground running when I came here because even before I started classes, we had a two-week camp for ¡Fiesta Latina!" and the conference, said Guerrero.

Mariachi Plata de WNMU is central to Guerrero's attendance at the university. He learned about the group when members visited and performed at his high school with WNMU Music Instructor and Director of Mariachi Plata de WNMU Bryant Chaffino. "They are the biggest reason why I came here," said Guerrero.

SILVER CITY, NM - Adult Education Services is not a well-known part of the educational offerings at WNMU, but Adult Education Services Director Colton Bjerke hopes to change that.

Bjerke, who joined the university in 2022, is working to increase public awareness of the services offered, as well as to expand services in areas of southwest New Mexico that are underserved.

Bjerke explained that his office provides three different programs. "The most well-known one is the high school equivalency, which is preparing students to succeed on the GED or HiSET," he said,