Contact: Michael Padilla, 277-1816 Todd Burns, 277-5813

Feb. 13, 2003 FORMER QUESTA, RED RIVER RESIDENT FINDS SECURITY AT UNM Shawna Temple was born on the way to the grocery store in Farmington, N.M. Her mother, Priscilla Serencha, left Navajo Dam to purchase household necessities when she made a stop at the hospital. Born on the run and constantly moving, Temple has found security at the University of New Mexico. This past August was Temple's first semester at UNM. She is an English literature major and hopes to be accepted into the College of Education. Her long-term goals include becoming a teacher of English literature in a foreign country and publishing her own book of poetry. Both are becoming a reality as she will finish UNM within a year and a half and her book with 250 poems is in the process of being edited. Her father, Larry Temple, is a game warden and worked at Navajo Dam when she was born. Temple's family moved to the Red River Fish Hatchery and lived there until she was six. "I grew up riding horses and hunting for arrowheads," said Temple. As she grew, she moved with her mother to the Llama Foundation outside Questa, N.M. She lived in Questa until she was 12 years old and has fond memories of the little community. "Where we lived, we were Jehovah Witnesses surrounded by a bunch of hippies, but it was beautiful. At sunset, I remember the llamas would all do a dance on their hind legs," said Temple. Her mother followed the sunsets to Tucson, Ariz., where Temple attended middle school and then returned to New Mexico to attend Cibola High School in Albuquerque. Temple spent her final semester of high school in Los Lunas where she graduated in May 1992. After graduation, Temple spent nine months working in Houston, and returned to Albuquerque for work as the first bell woman at the Double Tree Hotel. From there she worked at American Airlines as a travel agent and then attended the Technical Vocational Institute in Albuquerque (TVI) for two years. After having her daughter Kauri, Temple decided to follow her dreams and began taking classes at the Universal Therapeutic Massage Institute. Upon graduation, she opened her own business as a massage therapist and worked for an osteoporosis clinic. Then came an offer she could not turn down. Temple was offered the manager's position at the Osteo Co. She made $30,000 her first year and worked there for two years. Temple was unhappy with the job environment and in December 2001, she turned in a month's notice just as her massage license expired. In January of 2002, Temple began work at Kelly's, a brew your own beer establishment and returned to TVI that summer. "I'm only 28 but I feel like I'm 50 with all of my experiences," said Temple. "After being in and out of relationships, life and moving, you want stability." Temple has found that stability in UNM and with Steven Wright. Temple was engaged to Wright in October of 2002 and they were married on Jan. 11, 2003. Temple describes their meeting as "love at first sight." ###

The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981