After a long journey fighting numerous physical disabilities, Christmas is coming early for one UNM senior, and it’s in the form of a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Ian Christmas will graduate from UNM this month, finishing his undergraduate studies with a 3.51 GPA. The road to graduation has been a challenging one: Christmas said he suffered a life-changing knee injury two weeks before graduating from One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia as a U.S. Army infantryman in 1997.
Originally from Hesperia, California, Christmas enlisted in the U.S. Army directly after graduating from high school due to a tight financial situation at home. He said that joining the Army was a defining point in his life.
His injury derailed his military career, ultimately ending it. His injury went untreated for more than five years, and later contributed to hip and spinal injuries, which left Christmas in a wheelchair until 2009. That’s when he decided to return to school at UNM.
“College is a necessary thing nowadays, especially with me and my disabilities,” Christmas said. “The easiest way to get the jobs that allow you the latitude to have disabilities, you’ve got to have a college degree.”
After leaving the Army, Christmas ended up in Santa Fe for a job. That opportunity fell through, so he decided to stay at home full-time to raise his son. When his son was old enough to start attending school, he decided to do the same.
Christmas began his time as an undergraduate at UNM in the engineering program. He said that he ultimately switched to economics because the amount of medications he was taking conflicted with his ability to meet tight deadlines for his engineering classes.
Christmas said he enjoys the mathematics that both engineering and economics classes require, but he prefers economics because it allows him to analyze the bigger picture. Christmas also minored in history, which he said goes hand-in-hand with economics. He said that some of his favorite topics to study were the history of American capitalism and the Depression Era.
Due to his injuries, Christmas said he has not worked a full-time job since 2003 and has been struggling to receive full medical benefits from the VA for over 10 years. Although he has been faced with these challenges, he said that the amount of resources at UNM for people with disabilities has been outstanding.
“The Accessibility Resource Center has been phenomenally wonderful with actually helping people in ways that are truly needed,” Christmas said.
Although his military career was cut short after his training accident, Christmas said that the military mindset has helped him get through college.
“For school, you have to be goal-oriented and just do it. Even with all of my problems, I did the work,” Christmas said. “It may hurt, but you just push through it.”
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After graduation, Christmas said he is hoping to take advantage of his economics degree and pursue a government job in banking and regulation. He said that he feels hopeful for the future, and that he is willing to go wherever job opportunities seem promising.
“Everything always works out. Sometimes not exactly the way I planned it, but it all works out in the end,” Christmas said.
Hard work ultimately worked out well for Christmas as he will be graduating with a 3.51 cumulative GPA and honors from the Delta Alpha Pi International Honors Society.
Christmas said he hopes that his journey will set a good example for his 11-year-old son, who has been his motivation to finish school. He said he never wants to see his son give up, no matter how bad things may get.
“Keep going no matter how hard it gets. Just keep pushing through and you’ll get to the end,” Christmas said. “No matter how hard it gets, there’s got to be something in your life to think about to keep you motivated.”
Ryan Lotz is a staff reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Lotz_DailyLobo.
