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New Mexico Daily Lobo
monday, may 7, 2018 / Page 17
UNM graduate looks to explore the world By Catherine Stringam @cathey_stringam
People are often warned not to make a decision based on a relationship, but for one graduate, it led her to finding her dream job. Abigayle Goldstein is one of several hundred students graduating this weekend from the University of New Mexico. She was born and raised in New Mexico and said she always wanted to move away. She originally wanted to go to college in Arizona, but she stayed at UNM for a boy — that relationship did not last long. Goldstein remained at UNM and got her core curriculum done, unsure of what to study. She decided on English, with an emphasis on creative writing and a minor in teaching English as a second language. Like many UNM students, Goldstein said she still wanted to get out of New Mexico. She said she had an itch to travel, so when the opportunity arose, she gladly took it. She spent two weeks studying abroad in Ireland during the summer of 2016.
“I didn’t think I was going to be able to study abroad,” Goldstein said. “But once I decided I was going to go, everything just worked out.” While studying abroad, she said she befriended her classmate Rachael Cassidy, and together they experienced the rich history and culture of Ireland. After their program ended, Goldstein stayed to travel more of Europe, visiting London, Paris and many of the places she had always dreamed of seeing. “You never want to stay in your little bubble, in your corner of the world, and never see everything else there is to see,” Goldstein said, adding that traveling overseas changed her perspective and broadened her horizons. Although she said she wanted to travel more, Goldstein came back to Albuquerque. She said she had to get serious about her courses and work hard to graduate on time. As she started her senior year, she said she began preparing for the future and looking into jobs. Due to her minor in teaching English, Goldstein said there were several paths she could take after graduation. One option she said she wanted to pursue was
moving abroad to teach English in another country. Goldstein said growing up in the Albuquerque area, she has seen all the things that need help — the homelessness, crime, and poor education and foster systems. “Albuquerque is kind of a mess, and I think that’s why a lot of people want to get out of here,” she said. Many of her classmates are moving to Colorado or California for better jobs and opportunities, and she said she doesn’t blame them — however, that is not what she wants to do anymore. “The more I thought about it, I realized I could stay here and make this place — the place that raised me, the place that I love — a better place for my kids and for generations to come,” she said. After graduation, Goldstein said she hopes to stay in New Mexico and teach at the high school level. While she said she knows the pay may not be great and her impact may be small, she has a deep desire to help make a difference. “There are so many places I could travel or go, but my dream job really is to work in the Albuquerque Public Schools,” Goldstein said.
Courtesy Photo / Abigayle Goldstein
Cassidy said she is excited for the kids who will get to have Goldstein as their passionate teacher. “Any world (Goldstein) teaches in will be a better one,” Cassidy said.
Catherine Stringam is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cathey_stringam.
History major learns from past and looks to the future By Nichole Harwood @Nolidoli1 University of New Mexico student Alfred Rascon will be graduating with a bachelor’s in history, making him the first in his family to graduate. Rascon was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico and moved to Albuquerque when he was 7-years-old and chose a degree in history because of his love of the subject, he said. “It is very interesting gaining historical perspective on anything from U.S. involvement in the Middle East, to how my wife’s family and many like them came to to New Mexico,” Rascon said. “I also feel like it’s useful in every profession.” Rascon said he has not decided on what career field he plans on going into after graduation, but said he would try substitute teaching
for a while to figure out if he is interested in teaching. Additionally, Rascon said he is very interested in going into politics. “I’m not really sure what I want to do after graduation,” Rascon said. “I have many things in mind, but I haven’t really decided yet. I guess the only goals I have are to do something that makes me happy, and to contribute to society in some meaningful and potentially memorable way.”Rascon describes his overall experience at UNM as having been positive and said he feels that he learned as much outside of class as he did in class. One impactful event that Rascon said he experienced was during his spring semester of his freshman year. “I was taking a public speaking class with Ailesha Ringer. The final speech I gave was about happiness,” Rascon said. “I had experienced pretty severe depression for the first time in my
life earlier in the semester, and I wanted to share that experience with the class and talk about how I was able to overcome it. I became a little emotional during the speech as did some of my classmates. My classmates and teacher were so supportive — it’s a moment I’ll never forget.”Rascon would not have been able to get through college without the emotional and financial support of his friends and family, he said. “They were there for me, whether I needed some money for gas during a tough holiday season, or if I just needed to get a drink and unwind from a hard week,” Rascon said.Now that he is edging nearer to his graduation date, Rascon said he admits that college was tough.“I mean, there’s a whole category of memes that are about the stress that comes from college,” Rascon said. “I pulled all-nighters frequently, ate junk,
drank way too much coffee and managed personal relationships poorly. But, I also made great memories, I learned a lot and met some really cool people.” Rascon said he is grateful for his experience as a college student and overall is happy to be done. “I’ve been in school since the age of 3 when my parents decided to put me in head start a year early,” Rascon said. “I’ve been a student for 20 years. I’m excited to experience life outside of being a student.” Rascon said his final semester was not so bad as he only has two finals and a short paper due. “Some semesters I would have five papers due, or five finals to take,” Rascon said. Rascon said he thinks that with each subsequent semester, students get more cynical, but better at managing their time and assignments. He said whenever he was stressed about a deadline he would tell himself that
by the day that the assignment is due, it will either be done or it would not and advises current students to adopt the same train of thought. “Either way I won’t have to worry about it anymore, it might not seem helpful, but it did a lot to remove the stress and helped me finish the assignment,” Rascon said. Time flies and Rascon said that he still remembers being an undergrad very clearly. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long,” Rascon said. “Take time to enjoy yourself, even if it means putting certain things off until later. You’re only young once.” Nichole Harwood is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. She writes for both culture and news. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
Lobo Life campus calendar of events Monday-Sunday, May 7-13, 2018 Current Exhibits LOBOMANIA! UNM Sports through the Years 8:00am-5:00pm, Monday-Saturday Zimmerman Library, Frank Waters Room 105 This exhibit encompasses all the varieties of sports at UNM and explores the development of Lobo Athletics over time. The exhibit also spotlights well-known UNM athletes and coaches. People of the Southwest 9:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Friday Maxwell Museum of Anthropology The exhibition celebrates the cultural history of the Southwest, especially the close relationship southwestern people have had with the land around them. Two-Fold: A Pairing of Frederick Hammersley & Matthew Shlian 9:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Friday Tamarind Institute Matthew Shlian’s recent work alongside a selection of Frederick Hammersley’s computer drawings and Tamarind prints. As the first
artist awarded the Frederick Hammersley Artist Residency, Shlian was able to collaborate with six different printers and produce several different bodies of work during his extended residency. New Releases 9:00am-5:00pm, Tuesday-Friday Tamarind Institute This exhibition includes most recent projects completed by artists who have been invited to collaborate with Tamarind master printers. Here Now: 24th Annual Juried Graduate Exhibition 10:00am-4:00pm, TuesdaySaturday UNM Art Museum “Here Now” includes approximately 50 artworks by 26 artists, all of whom are current graduate students in University of New Mexico’s Department of Art. This dynamic and diverse group of works surveys what is happening at UNM right now and includes painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Ecologies of Resistance 10:00am-4:00pm
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology Ecologies of Resistance illustrates the artistic process of the DesertARt LAB collaborative’s site-specific ecological installation in the high desert of southern Colorado, through the use of artifacts, archival materials, and botanical samples. Time & Space are None of Our Business 10:00am-6:00pm, Wednesday & Friday CFA Downtown Studio An art display featuring works by Kym Thurman, Joe Sternod, Jeremy Dellarosa, Jesse Davila, Cynthia Rockwell, Brinna Rammage, Everton Tsosie, Diana Cervantes, Ariane Crummer, and Vera Clyne. Patrick Nagatani: A Survey of Early Photographs 10:00am-4:00pm, TuesdaySaturday University of New Mexico Art Museum University of New Mexico Art Museum proudly presents Patrick Nagatani: A Survey of Early Photographs. The exhibition
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features 50 foundational works, some which have rarely been seen, and makes connections to ongoing series created by Nagatani throughout his career. Meridel Rubenstein, Eden Turned on its Side 10:00am-4:00pm, TuesdaySaturday University Art Museum Meridel Rubenstein, Eden Turned on Its Side is a major photographic artwork comprised of three parts: Photosynthesis, Volcano Cycle, and Eden in Iraq. The work is about human relationships to the environment on the scales of human time, geological time, and mythical time. Ancestors 10:00am-4:00pm, Tuesday-Friday Maxwell Museum of Anthropology This exhibit introduces our ancestors and close relatives. These ancient relatives will take you through the story in which all of our ancestors had a role. Pueblo Pottery with Clarence Cruz 11:00am-3:00pm, Monday-Friday Masley Gallery II
All Graduating ARTE Student Exhibition 11:00am-3:00pm, Monday-Friday Masley Gallery
Monday
Lectures & Readings Now What? Transitioning Out of College Workshop 10:00am-1:00pm Career Services Conference, Room (UAEC 220) Sponsored by UNM Career Services. Dissertation Presentation 1:00-2:00pm Centennial Science & Engineering Library, Room 3031 Amirhosein Jafari, Engineering, presents “A Decision-Making Framework for the Selection of Sustainable Alternatives for EnergyRetrofits.”
Campus Calendar continued on pg 18
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