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Campus News
     

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Fall 2002 Spotlight Issue
October 28, 2002

West passionate for music, education

By Michael Padilla

West earned three UNM degrees.Growing up in Fort Sumner, Barbara West had to judge music by its cover.

“We didn’t have FM Hill like in Santa Rosa,” West quips. “I had to order my music by judging what looked good in music catalogs. I never heard the music or knew of the artists before I bought it.”

Since then, West’s appreciation for music has grown and she has been an avid rock concert-goer. This summer she and a friend saw a life-long favorite, “The Scorpions” in five different cities including Los Angeles and Ontario, Calif, Milwaukee, Chicago and Albuquerque.

Her love for music parallels her passion for education.

After graduation from high school in 1983, West headed west to Albuquerque to attend UNM.

“I wanted new experiences and to meet new people,” she says, adding that education keeps her interested in world events.

In December, she will receive a master’s in business administration with a concentration in management information systems. In 1987, she received her BA in accounting from the Anderson Schools of Management. She received a BA in psychology in 1995.

“Education keeps me involved and there’s no better place to be at than UNM,” she says. She also takes numerous continuing education courses and motivates office staff to take courses. She says tuition remission is one of the best benefits at UNM.

After receiving her first degree, she worked for the Department of Special Education for three years. Then she worked in the UNM Bursar’s Office for two years. She was a contract and grant coordinator for three years in the Office of Research Services. In 1996, she was hired in the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering and in 1999 she took on the duties as department administrator II.

West says she was fortunate to take part in the College Enrichment Program when she first came to UNM.

“It was a great way for me to learn what all UNM had to offer,” she says. “Anyone wanting to come to UNM, but who is afraid of the ‘big school’ should participate in the program.”

West also enjoys traveling and goes to Fort Sumner to visit her parents James and Kathy West. Her father is a farmer and her mother is the City Clerk for the Village of Fort Sumner.

West is not only a friend of many bands, but a friend to education.

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