For undergraduate student Correen Talley, graduation is more than just getting a liberal arts degree — it’s an opportunity to represent her Navajo culture in the real world through her degree focus of digital media and computer animation in the film industry.
“I would like to at least try to include my Native American culture more into the films because there’s not a lot that we see today with Native Americans, and I really would love to be a part of that,” Talley said.
Talley has loved her time at the University of New Mexico but is ready to move on to the next step in her life. Always defined as a storyteller by her peers, Talley was inspired by Pixar Animation Studios and dreams to work for them one day.
“I’ve always loved the Pixar animations and I’ve always wanted to make (art), and (I) love art and telling stories. And I always catch myself making characters or creating stories in my head, so I just thought about, ‘Why don’t I just do it? Why don’t I be a part of it ‘cause I love it so much?’” Talley said.
Talley’s mother, Lisa, said after her daughter took a Navajo-related class at UNM, Talley got a lot more interested in her culture and started asking her father to help her learn their Navajo language. Talley said she found that she “could be a better person within the school and still have my culture.” American Indian Student Services was particularly helpful for Talley, and she often accessed their services during her time at UNM.
Talley’s family and friends don’t doubt that her dreams will come to life, and her boyfriend Michael Benavidez said, “Her energy is just nonstop; it doesn’t give up. So if you don’t give up, you will succeed.”
“She does not realize how bright her future is going to be as long as she sticks to her goals, and I’m really excited to see it,” Benavidez said.
After taking a year off in 2019, Talley came back to UNM in August 2020 — when the University was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this created many challenges for Talley, she said the community at UNM all “joined together” and she realized she needed to sort out her priorities in life.
“For me, it was mostly my mental health (that was impacted) and me trying to get back to myself and figure out what to do with myself because it kind of put life in perspective,” Talley said.
College wasn’t always easy for Talley. There were moments when she wished outside life didn’t interfere with school and she could just focus on her studies without the distraction of other things.
“There were times that were hard in my life and I had to really balance that with school and had to make some tough decisions,” Talley said.
She didn’t start out as a liberal arts major with this focus originally but knew it was the right one once she found it.
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“When you see the end (art) product, it’s really satisfying and you feel really proud (of) yourself,” Talley said.
Talley is especially proud of a film that included a complete run-through of her animation that she made for her Advanced Maya Production class.
“If someone showed me this video that I completed when I first started (UNM), I wouldn’t believe it. I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, I made that? That’s insane,’” Talley said.
Working as the classifieds representative on the advertising staff at the Daily Lobo helped Talley progress in the skills she wanted to learn for her future career while also allowing her enough time to focus on her academic studies.
“Now I feel like I’m a lot more confident about (my skills), and also know what to look for, what to ask,” Talley said. “It helps me know just a little bit more of where to go.”
This learned confidence extends to her family as well when they envision her future. Her father Franklin Talley said she’s always been intelligent and able to pick up on things easily.
“I have confidence that she will do good, whatever comes her way,” Franklin Talley said.
Talley’s parents are extremely proud of their daughter graduating and her mother Lisa Talley noted that “she did it all on her own.”
“You never know what the future holds but we see a brighter future in her. She’s doing good; she’s doing really good. What I see is what I expected to see in my daughter,” Franklin Talley said.
Megan Gleason is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716
