An ENMU Athletics Love Story

By Toni Carrasco and Amy Archuleta

Students have many reasons for choosing ENMU. Jeff Howard (BS 06) and Laci (Lee) Howard (BS 05) chose to attend ENMU in order to keep playing the sports they love while obtaining a quality education. However, they left ENMU with far more than a degree … they left with one another!

Laci, Natassja and Jeff Howard

Jeff and Laci were high school sweethearts with aspirations of continuing to play sports after graduating. “ENMU was the place we both received scholarships to play and by accepting those scholarships we were able to stay together during college,” Laci explained.

Laci was a star Zia basketball player. She was Lone Star Conference South Division All- Academic twice, made the commissioner’s honor roll, was all conference, and still ranks 17th on the Zia career-scoring list. Jeff’s Greyhound football jersey was retired after a senior year, which concluded his college career with three All-America honors, two All-Lone Star Conference South selections, and Academic All-District selection. This athletic power couple was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honors in 2011.

But ENMU wasn’t just about athletics. Jeff and Laci both valued their education and majored in Biology with an emphasis in Pre-med. While neither of the two chose to pursue a career in the medical field, both learned to be dedicated and work hard through their educational experience. “We learned a lot about dedication,” Laci explained, “We learned that to be successful there must be sacrifice and hard work. Success is not something that is instant but must be earned over time with consistent effort.”

The couple’s hard work and dedication has paid off. After graduation, Jeff began his coaching career in football at the high school level and has already worked his way up to the professional level as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Laci teaches science and coaches basketball at Mound Westonka High School in Minnesota.

While this couple has many accomplishments to celebrate, they have found their greatest accomplishment to be the adoption of their 16-year-old daughter Natassja. “We took Natassja into our home September 2012,” Laci stated, “Being able to see God work in her life has been one of the greatest things we have ever seen. She is turning out to be a wonderful young lady and making great strides in her life. She is graduating high school this May and we are very excited about her decision to attend ENMU in the fall.”