Digging into the Past Ethan Ortega (BS 13) is a Historic Ranger at the Coronado Historic Site outside of Bernalillo, New Mexico. The Coronado Historic Site contains the ancestral Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua, which was built in the early A.D. 1300s and occupied until the mid-1700s. Excavations in the 1900s revealed hundreds of artifacts in this large adobe pueblo and a square kiva (ceremonial structure) with many layers of beautiful murals on the walls—a very rare find that gives us hints into the daily lives of the prehistoric Tiwa. In his position as Historic Ranger, Ethan performs a wide variety of daily tasks in three main areas: site preservation, education, and research. For site preservation, Ethan notes that he continually monitors the condition of the site and helps apply plaster to the old pueblo walls to protect them from damage due to weathering. Education is Ethan’s favorite part of the job. With tourists coming to the site each week, including many from outside the United States, Ethan enjoys “sharing the history of our State with our visitors.” Finally, during the winter months when other work at the site is slow, Ethan conducts research on
artifacts and field notes from the old excavations. The fruits of this research are on display in a new exhibit at the site featuring some of the digital maps Ethan created using old field records as well as artifacts he studied from the site’s extensive collections. During the past year, Ethan also organized Deborah Ellis, one of about 12 volunteers, assisting Ethan with his research program. a Junior Archaeology program at the site, both inside and outside the classroom. allowing local students to participate in a In particular, he has used his knowledge mock excavation set up adjacent to the of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) site. The program brings together various to produce site maps and the WordPress aspects of New Mexico’s Common Core as part of the students’ experience, so they blogging tool to create a separate website for the Kuaua pueblo (kuaua.com). His can learn while they have fun. Through time as president of Mu Alpha Nu, the their excavation and research, students anthropology student organization, also must use skills from science, mathematics, and especially language arts as they analyze helped hone his organizational skills. As he notes, “I learned a lot about event and interpret their results. planning as Mu Alpha Nu president; here Ethan is passionate about his career. He I use those skills on a bigger scale to credits part of his success to the hands-on organize lectures and other educational nature of the ENMU anthropology program outreach opportunities.” where he gained information and skills
HSI-STEM Students Earning Internships
By Lori Brunsen
ENMU’s Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) program and the HSISTEM Grant helped students land summer internships with ONCOR. ONCOR is the sixth largest regulated electric transmission and distribution company in the United States. The company serves 10 million Texans, including residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, Midland, Odessa, Killeen, Waco, Wichita Falls and Tyler. ONCOR offered eight students from the EET program summer internships; even better, the positions can transition into full-time, permanent positions. ONCOR selected Lance Miller, Mathew Encinias, Sean Gahan, Ricardo Hernandez, Shawn Martinez, Jon Patman, Mike Urioste and Kuuleiokealo Vonschriltz. ONCOR 10
Green & Silver | August 2015
recruiter Alan Edwards stated, “We are amazed at the quality of ENMU students and we were fortunate to interview them.” Students’ training began in Electronics Engineering 402, ENMU’s Renewable Energy Technology course taught by Electronics Engineering professor Dr. Hamid Allamehzadeh. “We have a strong Electronics Engineering Technology program at ENMU. We prepare students for success beyond ENMU,” says Dr. Allamehzadeh. The internship oportunities grew out of ENMU’s HSI-STEM grant awarded in 2011 by the U. S. Department of Education. HSI-STEM stands for HispanicServing Institution—Science, Technology,
Engineering, or Mathematics. To qualify as an HSI institution, Hispanic students must account for at least 25 percent of a university’s full-time equivalent students. ENMU’s grant is three-fold: (1) prepare high school students for entrance into STEM fields (2) provide undergraduate students with STEM field opportunities and (3) assist two-year institution transfer students with successful completion of their STEM degrees. Dr. Hamid Allamehzadeh and HSI-STEM staff member Laurie Jacoby assisted in preparing EET students for their ONCOR interviews. This grant working with ENMU faculty, will prepare even more students for “STEM” success.
Photo by Jack Ellis
By Dr. Kathy Gore
