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UNM project plans to analyze how academic culture can be improved

Nichole Harwood | December 15

A collaborative effort by three UNM departments has researchers exploring the impacts of commonly found disparities between academic contextual culture within student participants and their learning environments at Arizona State University. The research team — made up of UNM sociology associate professor Roberto Ibarra, Earth and planetary science professor Gary Weissmann and UNM graduate Michael Howland-Davis — will be be studying conceptual context diversity at ASU in a project funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Sports

Football: Lobos to try for first bowl game win since 2007

Robert Maler | December 15

Lobo football looks to put an exclamation point on one of the most successful seasons in program history with a win at the 11th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Saturday. New Mexico (8-4, 6-2 MW) stumbled out of the gate this season, losing leads in two of its first three games, resulting in an early 1-2 record. But the Lobos turned things around and found ways to win tightly contested games throughout the rest of the season. They earned bowl eligibility for the second straight year with several games remaining on the schedule.

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News

UNM-created health care access initiative to be expanded nationally

Nichole Harwood | December 13

On Nov. 29 New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, joined the U.S. Senate in unanimously voting to approve legislation which would spread the UNM-created model of improving access to healthcare in rural areas nationwide. “We have already seen how the Project ECHO model can improve health outcomes in rural areas of New Mexico and throughout the United States by providing an innovative and affordable way to train local physicians in more specialized fields to treat diseases that they were not previously trained to treat,” Udall said. The ECHO Act expands the model by requiring Health and Human Services to actively seek areas where it can be implemented and provides funding opportunities to do so, Udall said.

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News

Settlement reached between UNM Regents, University president; Frank out at end of 2016

David Lynch | December 13

UNM President Bob Frank’s time at the helm is ending six months earlier than expected, after he and the Board of Regents reached a settlement on Tuesday. The agreement officially ends Frank’s tenure on Dec. 31. University Provost Chaouki Abdallah will take over as interim head of the University in the spring semester, while a Regent Robert Doughty-led committee continues its search for the next University president.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: UNM loses to NMSU in Las Cruces for the first since 2007, snap 5-game winning streak in Rio Grande Rivalry

Isabel Gonzalez | December 12

New Mexico State basketball assured that this season’s Rio Grande Rivalry would be split it dealt New Mexico an 84-71 in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Lobos’ record to 6-4, extending their road losing streak to three games. The Aggies, meanwhile, improve their record to 8-2 overall and remain hot having won six games in a row. Their last loss was on Nov. 18 during the first rivalry game of the season, when the Lobos took a 72-59 contest at WisePies Arena.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos find winning ways with dominant first-half shooting

Matthew Narvaiz | December 12

The Lobo women's basketball team looked like a well-oiled machine throughout most of its match against the University of Texas El Paso Miners, taking a 79-66 home victory on Sunday afternoon. The Lobos (4-5) seemed to feed off the positive energy the crowd of 4,596 exuded, especially early on. The first quarter couldn't have gone much better for the Lobos. Senior center Richelle van der Keijl made UTEP (2-6) pay, as she dropped six points down low and continued to do so throughout the half. Lobo guard Cherise Beynon also had a hot hand in the first quarter of play, scoring five points to help UNM go on top 20-12 at the end of the frame.

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News

Grad Issue: Student's daughter helps power her to degree

Emma Citizen | December 12

After 20 years of not going to school, Lisa Mascarenas will be receiving her associate’s degree in criminology from UNM Valencia. “Knowing I got this far, remembering the struggle and realizing just how easy it would have been to quit, I didn't and that makes me happy to know I did it,” Mascarenas said. Over the last three years, Mascarenas has been trying to get her degree. The biggest push for her was her 19-year-old daughter, Renee, who has been there the whole way.

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Culture

Grad Issue: Comanche student studies family history for dissertation

Fin Martinez | December 12

After a rigorous career in academia, Eric Tippeconnic, a Comanche doctoral candidate, will be receiving his doctorate degree in history, making him the first professionally trained historian in his tribe’s history. Tippeconnic said that he initially began looking into graduate school and was visiting his tribal headquarters in Lawton, Oklahoma, where the education director asked him what he was interested in pursuing.

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News

Grad Issue: News of mother's cancer motivated student to take college seriously

Nichole Harwood | December 11

Mario Armijo graduated in 2010 but didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until his mother’s battle with cancer inspired him to act. He is now graduating with a bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in marketing. Armijo said while he had been attending college he didn’t know what degree he really wanted to pursue. He was taking only one physical education class when his mother called to notify him of her cancer. “That's when it kind of hit me like, ‘I really need to get it together,’ so I decided I wanted to go back to UNM. I wanted to actually try to get a degree and actually make an effort,” he said.

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News

Grad Issue: Entrepreneurial hopeful plans to use education to give his children a better life

Elizabeth Sanchez | December 11

Throughout Joseph Brasher’s life, he was a doer. Over the years, his titles have included: copier/fax/printer technician at the Duke City Typewriter Shop, service manager at Firestone, chemical equipment repairman for the military, dishwasher at the Sheraton Inn, truck driver, brother, son, husband, father, grandfather. And that’s just a start. But in 2008, he added another title to his résumé: full-time stay-at-home dad to his three sons, and caregiver to his wife who developed muscular sclerosis.

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News

Grad Issue: Unemployment turns into opportunity to pursue education

Robert Maler | December 11

Many non-traditional students have a difficult time adapting to college life and some never make it to the finish line, but one New Mexico student used a challenging situation as her motivation to graduate. Jessica Lucero, a 28-year-old liberal arts major, said she didn’t start her college career until an age when many people are finishing theirs. As a result, it was all very new to her. Stephen Becerra, Lucero’s stepfather and mentor, joked that she was the “little viejita — the old lady — of the class.”

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Sports

Grad Issue: Lobo hopes to live his lifelong dream of playing professional soccer

Isabel Gonzalez | December 11

New Mexico men’s soccer standout Chris Wehan’s 6-year-old self would be proud. “It’s kind of crazy right now just going through the process of transitioning into possibly a professional career. I dreamed of it but I just never imagined that I would get there,” Wehan said. “I just hope someone believes in me and gives me an opportunity.” Like many younger siblings, his soccer journey began in part after he followed in the footsteps of his two older brothers, who also played. Wehan said he fell in love with the sport as early as 6 years old, and quickly discovered he might have some talent.

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Culture

Grad Issue: Answering the call to study music

Skylar Griego | December 11

For the final weeks of the fall 2016, some students are preparing for a month-long break between terms while others are saying goodbye to UNM for the final time. Students from all walks of life will be graduating with a hard-earned degree this December — some even with more than one. Christian Newman, a fine arts student, will be graduating with two master’s degrees after finals week: one in piano performance and one in music composition.

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News

Grad Issue: Lobo springboards from UNM into working with Apple

Brendon Gray | December 11

A short two years after arriving to the U.S., Jorge Moukel — who will graduate this semester with a master’s in computer engineering — has already begun to make a name for himself in the tech industry. The Venezuela native immigrated to the U.S. after political unrest in his home country began. After getting his undergraduate degree in his country, Moukel began developing mobile applications, making around $200 a month. That initial interest has since blossomed into a much bigger opportunity: Moukel will be starting work at Apple next semester, developing debugging software for the technology giant. But his journey to success has been riddled with trials.

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Opinion

Op-Ed: Should Trump impose tariffs on China and Mexico?

Robert W. McGee | December 11

Should Donald Trump impose a 35 percent tariff on the importation of goods from China and Mexico as he proposes to do once inaugurated? The short answer, for two reasons, is NO. Reason number one has to do with utilitarian ethics. Nearly all studies conducted by unbiased economists have found that trade restrictions are negative-sum games: There are more losers than winners, or the total losses exceed the total gains. For every job saved, two or three jobs are destroyed, depending on the study and the underlying assumptions.

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News

Grad Issue: Mom hopes to use her college success as an example for her kids

Nichole Harwood | December 11

Angelique Maldonado is a mother of three boys who also worked full-time as she pursued her master’s degree in water resources. This semester. her hard work paid off as she will be graduating, an example of success she plans to use to motivate her kids one day. “(It was) definitely challenging, but rewarding at the same time,” Maldonado said. “It keeps me busy, but I’m pretty driven so it’s kind of nice to be able to set a good example for my kids and let them know the importance of school.” Maldonado works with Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, which has been flexible as she worked on her studies, she said.

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News

Grad Issue: Student overcomes illness and depression to get degree

Sarah Trujillo | December 11

Monique Renee Curley, who recently graduated with her Master of Engineering this past summer, is a born and raised Burqueña with a story of persistence. “I'm convinced that anyone can do anything. I wasn't born with the greatest of resources, but I did what I had to do to seek them out and make them my own,” she said. “I've pursued my childhood interest in science and trained myself along the way to become a scientist. You can do anything you want, but you have to want it enough.” Curley said her mother had a drug problem dating back to her teens — putting her in a place where she was unable to care for Curley as an infant — and her father left soon after she was born.

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News

Grad Issue: Mom comes from Ukraine to pursue nursing career

Gabriela Garcia-Huff | December 11

16 years ago, Lyudmyla Kostyk left her home and travelled to New York City in the hopes of pursuing a degree in nursing. At the time, she left her two children, Oksana and Pavlo Vivchar, with her parents in their home — nearly 5,000 miles away in Ukraine. This week, Kostyk will be graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in nursing from UNM. But she will not be alone. Kostyk’s daughter, Oksana, will be joining her mother on this highly anticipated day, with her own bachelor’s degree in biology.

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News

Grad Issue: Iraq veteran uses military experience to get through college

Audrin Baghaie | December 11

The most outstanding, vivacious rewards in life are seldom material. It takes time, effort and strife to realize ambition and achieve that level of personal satisfaction. On an individual basis, we’re all often trying to achieve the abstract; what is meaningful to one’s self. After serving in the U.S. Army for eight years and persevering through her nephew’s diagnosis of brain cancer, Esmeralda Moreno will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Moreno was born in El Paso, Texas, and moved to Albuquerque during her middle school years. She joined the ROTC in high school and attended TVI, now known as CNM, to secure a liberal arts degree.

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Culture

Grad Issue: Student hopes to use his education to serve his country in the Air Force

Savanna Molina | December 11

Many people who don’t finish college on their first shot usually never go back, but for Christopher Kennedy, his return and graduation has been a long time coming. After six different schools and 16 years since he attended his first college course, Kennedy will be graduating from UNM with honors at the age of 34. Right out of high school, Kennedy first attended the Coast Guard Academy and for several years studied at many other military schools and community colleges. He said he had a job while he was going to school, but when it was too much and his life wasn’t going in the right direction, he decided joining the U.S. Air Force was his best chance at a better future.