Feb. 25, 2008

Rio Rancho Journal

UNM Campus Would Be Handy for RR (Letter to the editor)
By Melissa L. Valdez

As a resident of the city of Rio Rancho and a current student at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, I am in full support for the building of a UNM campus in Rio Rancho.
   
Education is one of the most important assets anyone can have. Opening a full-service campus in Rio Rancho would allow for many of its residents to continue their education, whether it is straight from high school, returning to college to further a career or even current high school students getting a jump-start on college.
   
For more than a decade, UNM has invested in Rio Rancho by providing courses at their Rio Rancho office. This has been of great service to people that live in Rio Rancho, but as Rio Rancho grows, so does the demand for courses and we are outgrowing the current UNM space. In order for UNM to continue to grow with Rio Rancho, it is time for us to take the initiative and the necessary steps to bring UNM home.
   
For the past three years, I have made the one-hour commute to UNM in Albuquerque from my home in north Rio Rancho. This commute can get very expensive. Bringing a UNM branch campus to Rio Rancho would save many students almost $200 per month in gas money, money that could be spent in Rio Rancho. In addition, as our city grows, and with the limited number of bridges across the Rio Grande, the commute time becomes longer and longer every year. So not only would a UNM branch campus in Rio Rancho save its citizens money, it would also save time. Not to mention, cutting down on the commute is safer. I have also taken advantage of riding the Rail Runner from Bernalillo from time to time, however, there are drawbacks to riding the train for students. The one problem I had is that if I had an evening class or needed to study later in the evening at school with other classmates, I would be forced to drive because the last Rail Runner leaves the downtown station at 6:30 p.m. So while the Rail Runner is great for people with 8-5 jobs, it doesn't always work out well for people who work later or students who have evening classes.
   
In whole, I am proud to live in a community that has historically supported education and is known for their great schools. The great education the students of Rio Rancho receive establishes a foundation for them to be able to continue their education at UNM. It only makes sense that we continue this trend to help bring full-service higher education to our own backyards. It's good for my family, it's good for my neighbors, but mostly, it's good for the future of Rio Rancho.
   
Melissa L. Valdez is a medical student at the University of New Mexico and a resident of Rio Rancho.