Steven Cervantes, 13, lives at home with his mother, father, sister and 3-year-old niece, from whom he is inseparable. He loves cokes and cheeseburgers, he likes to shoot his BB gun and play with his dogs. He attends middle school and participates in myriad different sports. His favorite sport? Basketball.
The one thing that separates Cervantes from the average 13-year-old is that he has spent the past 10 years in a wheelchair. For the rest of his life, Cervantes will most likely live with a shunt running from the ventricular system in his brain to his stomach to keep his brain from swelling. The thumb-sized scar on the right side of his torso is the only visible sign of his shunt. Anyone who knows Cervantes knows that he accepts the challenge of living with spina bifida with a bold and smiling face, and when those around him are looking for a reason to smile, he provides one.
“He keeps us on our toes, keeps us going night and day,” says his 23-year-old sister Annette Cervantes. “Steven loves to go to church. If he didn’t make us go every Sunday, we probably would not go at all,” says his mother Manuela Cervantes. “When times have been hard, he has stayed strong for us.”
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PHOTO STORY: Best Winter Study Spots on Campus
December 1As the leaves keep falling off the trees, and each morning gets ever so slightly colder, winter slowly hits the University of New Mexico campus. Students begin to wear heavier clothes and begin to stay indoors more. Regardless of the temperature outside, this doesn’t stop the studying students have to do, begging the question: What are the best winter study spots on campus? Everyone has their own taste, but there are some spots that just cannot be beat. Zimmerman Library’s west-wing is great for anyone who wants to lock-in in silence while study spots near the Adobe Creative Commons for anyone wanting to study in groups. But there isn’t just Zimmerman, the Student Resource Center Apartments second level and Dane Smith has spots for a break during classes and George Pearl Hall has small classrooms available when not in use. Preston Rogers is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at photo@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
PHOTO STORY: Architectural Studio Life
December 1With one week left in the semester, each day is more and more stressful. Piles of scrap cardboard and chipboard lay everywhere as University of New Mexico architecture students prepare for their final review. Although this is a time of stress and urgency, it’s a bonding experience for many. From late nights working through problems with fellow classmates preparing for a final review, these relationships can be only obtained in architecture school at the School of Architecture and Planning. A strong studio culture has been built with students regardless of year, collaborating together whether in studio or down in the Fab Lab. The studio culture built in the architecture program at UNM is one of a kind. Preston Rogers is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at photo@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
PHOTO STORY: Built for learning: How architecture enhances the architecture school experience
December 1Most buildings on campus are designed in a manner that best suits what is being taught there, and George Pearl Hall is an excellent example of this. Two of five floors are filled with studio spaces where students in their second year and up each have their own space, providing an environment that can be adapted to their needs. Throughout the building its infrastructure is exposed, allowing students to measure steel beams and use the infrastructure as a guise for their work. The building’s “Crit Bridge” is a cradled bridge over the underground courtyard that serves as multifunctional space for holding events, student reviews and as exhibition space for student work. It’s not just these spaces, the entire structure is used as a reference for students as they continue to learn and develop their own projects. Preston Rogers is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at photo@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
