Delia Brennan said she came to UNM from Florida for the same reason many out-of-state students do: affordability.
Brennan was not looking forward to moving to Albuquerque, nor to attending UNM, but now she considers New Mexico “more of a home than Florida” and is graduating with many accolades.
“It started in orientation where I said, ‘I’m going to be positive about this,’” she said.
Freshman year, Brennan joined the World Affairs Delegation and Emerging Lobo Leaders.
“My original goal was to graduate with a degree in computer science…but after a year of that I realized I liked international relations, international law and things like that a lot more,” she said. “I learned that through joining the World Affairs Delegation and traveling and competing with them.”
Brennan also credits Emerging Lobo Leaders and the mentorship she received there for prompting her later involvement with ASUNM.
Brennan served a term as an ASUNM Senator and President Pro-Tempore and was then appointed Chief of Staff to the ASUNM President for this academic year.
This year, she also served as President of the World Affairs Delegation and as President of the Order of Omega Honors Society.
Brennan was recently selected as a recipient of the Clauve Outstanding Senior Award, which is presented to “outstanding seniors who have performed well academically and made significant contributions to the campus community through their outstanding leadership and involvement in student organizations and activities.”
She is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international studies and political science. After being accepted to numerous prestigious law schools, she has decided to attend George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
“I hope to eventually get a job either with the federal government working in human rights, or with the UN in some sort of agency in the area of human rights, or an NGO,” she said. “Being here and surrounded by a community that is as diverse as UNM — it’s something I didn’t experience in Florida at all. It’s really opened my eyes to everything about the world I didn’t understand before, and that’s what led me to this new career path. I don’t want to leave.”
Gabriella Rivera is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter as @gabbychlamps.
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