Students interested in delving beyond coursework into their fields of study can choose from an array of academic organizations catering to just about every branch of study at UNM.
The groups offer professional speakers, scholarships, workshops and a place to hang out and meet new, like-minded friends.
"We have a lot of fun in our group," James Brickey, vice president of the American Nuclear Society's UNM student chapter, said. "As a group, we've gone out to the bar on payday, and recently we've been playing racquetball together."
Important missions of the group, Brickey said, include getting students interested in studying nuclear science and providing support and advancement to those already in the field. The 20-member group's activities have included serving irradiated meat during an Earth Day barbeque; distributing irradiated papayas from Hawaii during E-Racing, an engineering school event; and speaking events with professionals to inform students about potential career paths.
"Companies use it so meat would stay better longer, and bacteria would have less of a chance of surviving," Brickey says of the irradiation, a technology also called cold pasteurization that was first approved in the 1950s, "It's completely safe."
The Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization is another of the many science-oriented student groups. The group's two predominant events are a fall career fair and a spring event - the recently renamed Science Extravaganza - aimed at introducing high-school students to UNM's science programs.
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"This year we also started getting more community-oriented," group president Luis Carlos Gutierrez said.
The Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization recently began a lunch-hour mentoring program at Highland High School.
"This program is focused more on students that are unlikely to go to college," he said. We want to provide a resource so they don't get discouraged."
The group also offers a speaker series, including a planned Feb. 21 talk on differences in nonverbal communications between cultures by a spokesman from New Jersey communications company Lucent Technologies.
"We send our members to technology conferences all over the nation; you can attend professional development workshops and career fairs," Gutierrez said of the benefits of joining the organization. "You also have the opportunity to give back and help members of the community, and help younger college students."
Students in communication fields have a slew of organizations from which to choose.
One of the most visible is Women in Communications, a group comprising students from nearly every branch of study.
"It's open to all majors," group president Vanessa Lin said. "It's business oriented, but we've got biology majors, all kinds of people. It's for anyone who wants to meet new people and make new friends."
The group, which now has about 15 members, specializes in building relationships between students and members of the local professional chapter.
"It's all about networking - so when you get out of school, you'll know people who can direct you or help you out," Lin said.
The group also brings in professionals to educate students on how to present themselves during an interview, how to write an effective resume and other job-hunting tips.
The Public Relations Student Society of America is an actual public relations firm run by students. The 24-member group currently has five clients, including Santa Fe ice company Polar Ice.
"They want to expand their business to Albuquerque, we'll be putting together media kits," president Melinda Mader said. "Basically, it's about getting incoming professionals to learn about the public relations world, so they'll know how to do real-world work."
Public Relations Student Society of America members can count the projects they've cooperated on with the group as work experience, and the Public Relations Student Society of America also helps students find internship opportunities, Mader said.
Over at Anderson Schools of Management, students interested in the hiring and firing business can explore opportunities and network with peers in the Society for Human Resource Management.
The 35-member group offers professional development workshops and opportunities to participate in knowledge-building regional competitions such as the HR Games, organization president Amanda Carillo said.
"They're Jeopardy-style competitions from teams on different college campuses," she said. "The goal of the game is to get students a fun way to study for the professional human resources certification."
Masters and doctoral students aiming for careers in school administration can network through the Leaders in Education group. The group offers small scholarships and grants, and a place where students interested in careers as principals, directors or similar administrators can learn from one another and develop learning relationships.
"We work so much together, it's nice to work as a cohort," president Diedra Martinez said.
