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The Department of Student Affairs
Scholes Hall 229
MSC05 3410
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Phone (505) 277-0952
Fax: (505 )277-6099
Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP)
This week's featured department is the Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP) with its Director, JillAnne Yeagley. Click on the link below to hear her talk about the many services and programs the COSAP has to offer students
For the latest edition of the Student Affairs UPDATE newsletter please click here
Paul Romo graduated from the UNM School of Medicine and has secured a future in research and medicine. Medicine probably wouldn’t have been his career if he hadn’t participated in the Ron McNair Scholars program.
Romo, the recipient of the 2009 “American Federation for Medical Research Award” for his research on lung cancer, now and fully appreciates the value of his education.
(Paul Romo at the SOM Graduation Ceremony)
Named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, one of the first African-American astronauts, the program is committed to increasing the number of students in doctoral degree programs who come from low-income and first generation backgrounds, or who are members of traditionally underrepresented groups in academia, specifically African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Natives.
Life wasn’t always so simple or certain for this Ronald E. McNair Program scholar.
Romo grew up a child of divorce, with mom as primary provider. He said both his parents were involved in his life and supportive of him, but never felt he had the guidance to be a successful student. His early encounters with education were so bad that he describes them as “toxic.” “I had trouble relating to the school system,” Romo said.
Because of his inability to connect scholastically and because he watched his mom struggle financially at times, Romo developed a drive to make money that ultimately could’ve steered his life in a different direction.
“When I was eight years old, I used to go to the golf courses and collect golf balls, wash them and re-sell them,” he said. By the time he entered high school, he was preoccupied with ways to generate income. “School always slid to the back burner,” he said. “That drive for money could have destroyed my life.”
In high school he hung out with people who were as disinterested in education as he was. “Several of the people I was hanging out with have since destroyed their lives with drugs and violence and some of them have or are currently are serving jail time,” he said.
In 10th grade when he met chemist Keith Emry who recognized Romo’s potential and inspired his interest in research and medicine. “I am very thankful for people like Keith who re-routed me and helped me,” Romo said.
Romo finished high school and started climbing the higher education ladder. In 2001, at 20 years old, Romo’s college career began as he entered the UNM McNair program. “Education was my salvation. It helped me pull me away from negative influences and discover a new way to make money through academia,” he said.
And, about that same time, he welcomed a son into his life. “I had just started my research when my son, Isaac, was born,” Romo said. “People thought that it would sidetrack my education, but really it did just the opposite and inspired me to do better.” 
Determined to make it as a student and dad, Romo stuck with the McNair program, which allowed him to immerse himself in curriculum and a UNM transcript full of A+’s, all while sharpening his career plan.
(Photo: Isaac and Paul)
After completing the McNair program, Romo got a job as an academic mentor for high school students at risk of dropping out. He then became an organic chemistry teaching assistant at UNM, got a research coordinator position at the Center on Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA), continued on with his research, and subsequently graduated from medical school.
Now, he plans to follow in his dad’s footsteps—and graduation was the first step in that process. “My dad was a social worker for substance abuse patients at the VA,” he says. “Wanting to emulate him and watching my childhood friends’ lives destroyed by different addictions made me want to help.”
Although his dad wasn’t able to witness Romo’s graduation firsthand, he saw his son pass his medical boards. “My dad passed away right before my graduation from medical school, so I thought about him as I was going through the ceremony,” he said.
Romo quickly compares what his life is as well as what it could’ve been. “Right before I walked on to the stage at the graduation it was like an adrenaline rush. I saw where the paths of my life bifurcated,” he said.
Romo’s plans now include a residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in addiction medicine. “My goal is to gain an appointment at UNM and work in the private sector to apply my big ideas to people from the reservations to people in the urban cities in New Mexico,” he said. His idea is to network with other disciplines in medicine to make a more efficient referral system to treat patients suffering from addictions.
Although he’s earned bragging rights, Romo is grounded, modest. “Things have a tendency of getting very dark and when I succeed, I take a step back and look at the situation and know that it’s not only because of me, but because of God, and that’s what keeps me humble and from being egotistical.”
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For specific CEOP Summer Camps click on the following links
UNM’s College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) earned a top 10 ranking out of its 38 peer programs via the Office of Migrant Education (OME) at the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME) meeting last month.
The OME, the federal agency that provides the UNM CAMP program with funding, uses two Government Performance and Results ACT (GPRA) measures to evaluate CAMP programs. GPRA 1 measures program effectiveness via the percentage of CAMP program participants completing their first year in college. Likewise, GPRA 2 measures the percentage of CAMP program first year completers who begin their second year in college. Both GPRA 1 and 2 also measure efficiency via the cost per student—the less the institution spends on a student the better.
The UNM CAMP program was ranked in the top 10 on both measures—not bad for a program that was established in 2001 and competes with other programs, such as St. Edwards University in Austin, TX, that have been around since 1972.
“Being ranked as a top 10 program in the nation, exemplifies that the College Assistance Migrant Program at UNM is headed in the right direction and meeting and exceeding all of its objectives,” says Ivan Olay, UNM CAMP program specialist.
CAMP works to identify, recruit, admit, and enroll migrant and seasonal farm worker students and provide them the academic, social, and financial support to enable them to complete their first year of college.
“Making the Most of Mentoring in a World of Change,” the second annual mentoring conference will be held November 16-18 on the main campus of the University of New Mexico. The keynote speaker is Dr. Lois Zachary, president of Leadership Development Services, LLC.
Abstracts are due by July 31 and can be submitted electronically to http://mentor.unm.edu/conference.html.
For more information click here.
The Student Health and Counseling Department (SHAC) has some important information regarding the H1N1 flu and precautions taken for our UNM Student Affairs Summer Programs. To view this important information, click here
Please visit http://newreccenter.unm.edu/ for information and photos regarding the new Student Rec Center.
“Being a Lobo has always been my dream since I was a little kid,” says Rachel Kindell, a West Mesa high school student who recently received the prestigious Daniels Fund Scholarship. “Now I just need to figure out what I want to major in.”
Kindell recently participated in the UNM College Readiness Program funded by the Daniels Fund and says that this program opened the door for her to be able to attend college. “Being self-supportive since I was 16 years old, I didn’t know how I would pay for college,” she says.
The UNM College Readiness Program seeks to invest in students who demonstrate: financial need (Pell Grant eligibility); academic performance or promise; strength of character, evidence of leadership potential, and emotional maturity and stability; well-rounded personality, abilities and broad interests; and the potential to contribute to one’s community later in life. Thirty-five students are selected for a one week residential component during the summer, where they learn about the college process by attending several workshops.
“The workshops focus on financial aid, scholarships, ACT prep, applying to college, student services and team building,” says Derek Maestas, a UNM graduate assistant and program coordinator for the UNM College Readiness Program.
“We had 32 of the 35 students continue during the school year,” Maestas says. “We had them fill out applications for colleges, scholarships, dorms and financial aid, and had them participate in an intense ACT preparation to increase their test results.”
Out of the 32 participants, 100% will attend post secondary education in the fall including UNM, NMSU, George Washington, and Colorado State University just to name a few.
“This was a really good program,” Kindell says. “Derek kept us all on the right track, making sure we did everything required and didn’t miss deadlines or forget things.”
Kindell says that every high school senior should take advantage of this program in which the students get to stay on campus and learn first-hand what college life is about.
“This is something I never expected from a prep program,” she says. “I was amazed at how supportive the program staff was. They even told us to call them if we need any help after we get to college.”
Like Kindell, three other College Readiness Program students were also named Daniels Scholars including: Jose Miranda, Rio Grande High School; and Ray Francia, Highland High School and Tiffany Soloman from Estancia. UNM officials nominated the students for the scholarship and these four are among 44 New Mexican high school scholars to receive the award this year.
The Daniels Scholarship may be used at any two- or four-year not-for-profit accredited college or university in the nation. Recipients must intend to complete a bachelor’s degree. The scholarship is a supplemental award to all other financial resources, including estimated family contribution, available to the student. After other financial aid resources have been applied, the Daniels Scholarship covers remaining tuition and fees, room and board, transportation, study abroad programs, books and supplies and a variety of other miscellaneous expenses. Students also receive a laptop computer and printer.
(pictured L to R MIDN Krista Garcia, MIDN Katherine O’Donnell, 2LT Justin Tabaka, USMC, 2LT Dayton Durant, USMC, MIDN Cameron Allen)
On the morning of April 10, while the UNM Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit were preparing for their combat-conditioning exercises, Garcia spotted a fire in front of a building along Sigma Chi road on campus. Garcia notified Tabaka, who in turn notified the others and the team, which included O’Donnell who was trained as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Colorado, sprang into action. In a true testament of coordinated efforts on the part of these students, the fire was put out in minutes. Subsequently, residents were notified and the police and arson unit showed up to investigate.
We congratulate these future officers for rising to the challenge to keep calm and help out their community.
