Return to C&J Online News home page

Some students never give up on B.A.

by TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD
C&J 271

Many people attend college hoping to gain a degree and find themselves in a four-year period.

Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than that.

University of New Mexico student Paul Maestas knows that even the best laid plans sometimes go awry.

Maestas, 29, is finishing up his junior year at UNM. He has taken a circuitous route toward graduation, often not taking classes for semesters at a time.

Statistics say that Maestas is not alone.

According to wikipedia.org, the average student at UNM is 27 years old.

Maestas first attended UNM in the fall of 1995, but he said he didn't start taking school seriously until he was 24.

That first semester started with a 12-hour class load, but it ended with only one class successfully completed.

When it came time for finals, Maestas said his heart was not in the right place.

"I skipped one, slept through two, but I did get a B in the one final I made it to," Maestas said.

With a full-time job as a supervisor at Target giving him a steady income, Maestas wanted to experience life in a way that college just didn't seem to provide.

He was also dealing with the pressures of a new marriage and a baby girl on the way.

"Once I had a kid I didn't feel like there was time to go back to school," Maestas said. "I figured college was always going to be there. I needed to work right now."

Maestas experienced an epiphany when his marriage ended abruptly. He assumed primary custody of his daughter, Valerie, and continued to work to provide a better life for her.

Soon the late hours and long days of retail management life became too much to handle.

"I had to spend so much time working that I wouldn't have time for Valerie if I kept my job in retail," Maestas said.

Maestas knew he would have to go back to school to make a better life for both himself and Valerie.

He credits his friends for being persistent in telling him that going back to school was his only option.

Taking a cue from his mother, an elementary school teacher, Maestas returned to UNM to pursue a degree in education. He is now on pace to graduate in December 2007.

He says being a teacher will allow him to spend more time with his daughter since he will be at work while she is in school, and he will be off work about the time she gets home.

"When I first started, all I saw was a long road ahead," Maestas said of his initial foray into college, "but now I see a purpose in what I do."

The daily schedule that was once completely filled with work is now balanced with a more diverse lineup of activities. Maestas has class two days a week, work two days a week and a job as a student teacher one day a week.

He has had to make sacrifices to achieve this type of balance in his life, including living at home with his mom.

"It's OK as a temporary solution," he said.

He added that he is always looking to improve his living arrangements, but not at the expense of finishing school.

Maestas laughs when asked what UNM could do to improve its retention of young students.

"Maybe they could put bars on campus," he said jokingly. "It's really up to that person. Either you're ready or you're not."

September 25, 2006

Go to Top