Getting Back to His Roots

By Rana Terry

While in college at ENMU, Clint Henson (B.S. 96) started working for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and for the past 16 years has worked as a District Officer, Habitat Specialist, and is now their Public Information Officer in Raton, N.M.

He is a commissioned officer, also known as a Conservation Officer or a Game Warden. Clint said, “I do all the law enforcement duties, plus deal with bears and all the other critters up in Northern New Mexico.”

Clint grew up on a ranch near Alamosa, Colo., until he was 14, and then moved to Capitan, N.M. He was selected as a Rotary Exchange Student his senior year and actually finished high school in 1988 in Wellington, South Africa, just north of Cape Town.

He said, “It was a truly fantastic experience. I have so many friends there that I want to go back and visit and maybe even work with someday.”

Clint didn’t have any plans to go to college until he was in a work-related accident that made him realize that he needed to do more with his life. Clint visited Eastern’s campus and loved it. He enrolled at ENMU the very next semester.

In 1991, he met and married his wife, Wanda. The two of them attended ENMU; Wanda received her B.S. in music in 1994 and Clint graduated with a B.S. in biology and a minor in chemistry in 1996. They have two children, Rebeka, a current ENMU student, and Toby, a sophomore at Raton High School.

A major factor in Clint’s decision to go to ENMU was the “Greyhound Sound.” He played the trumpet and French horn in high school and started playing for the “Greyhound Sound” as soon as he started at Eastern. He was involved in the music program his entire college career and really enjoyed playing with the marching band.

He also did a lot of photography while he was at Eastern, but, with a family, his kids were the main focus. “ENMU was a great place to raise kids and go to school,” Clint said.

Clint loved the personal nature of Eastern. “That is what was so great about going there. I did not want to go to a big school where no one knew me.” He added, “I have so many great friends that were both students and teachers. There was a real feeling of support and I knew that they wanted me to succeed.”

Clint started his studies in anthropology, changed to education and finally majored in biology. He said, “At each stage I was encouraged, and I loved my classes. With Eastern being a small campus, it’s almost like family.”

As the Public Information Officer for the northeastern quadrant of the state, he teaches a lot of hunter education and the National Archery Program in the Schools. To keep his job light and fun, he produces videos, takes and shares photos and answers a lot of questions about hunting and fishing. “It has been a great career where no two days are the same,” said Clint.

He plans on retiring from Game and Fish in about nine years. Clint said, “I have so many interests and plans for the future that include photography and travel. I want to return to South Africa, and continue my work in wildlife conservation. I also see a great need for teachers, especially music teachers. I am tempted to return to ENMU and become certified in teaching music at the high school level. We love to travel as a family and find neat places all over New Mexico and the U.S. There is so much to do…too much to do.”