One UNM student underwent a unique journey to graduation. It started on a race track, switched lanes into the classroom and could end up with a degree that puts him right back on the track again.
Gonzalo Correa-Kemish, a senior mechanical engineering major and motocross enthusiast, said motor sports have always been his passion. He knew at a young age that a mechanical engineering degree could be the bridge that keeps him close to the thing he loves.
“I started racing motorcycles when I was four years old,” he said.
Correa-Kemish, a native of Peru, said he began to gain a lot of motocross experience, even as a child, and won a junior motocross national championship in Peru at the age of 12, competing in the 65-85 cc division.
He said his parents provided a lot of support, but as his father started making more trips to the United States, it became more difficult to keep up with racing. Even though he could no longer compete, he still wanted to be involved in it.
He said his family moved to New Mexico when he was about 13 years old, and he remembers the family of five managing life in a one-bedroom apartment for about a year while waiting for their house to be built.
He said his father’s decision to move to the U.S. was a bold one; it had to be difficult to leave behind friends and family, he said.
“We became very close because when we came here, all we had was each other,” he said. “It’s hard to come to a different place and adapt.”
But Correa-Kemish seems to have adapted well. His girlfriend of two years, Kourtnee White, said the future graduate is very outgoing, with a personality that makes it hard for him to be disliked. She said he is probably the funniest person she knows.
Correa-Kemish’s infectious smile never left his face as he seemed to enjoy talking about how tight-knit his family is. Even though all three children in Correa-Kemish’s household are adults that have gone their individual paths, White said the family remains very close, reuniting for dinner every week.
“His mom or dad cooks dinner at their house, and everyone goes (there) and eats every Sunday,” she said.
White has also become very close with Correa-Kemish’s sister, Alejandra, who said she and White are almost like sisters. Both are also students at UNM, and they frequently study with each other on campus.
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Alejandra Correa-Kemish said she is extremely proud of her brother because things could not have been easy for him. She said her brother took a lot of AP class at Rio Rancho High School that likely helped prepare him, but he knew he had to work hard throughout college as well.
“Graduating is huge and that’s a hard degree that he finished in four years,” Alejandra Correa-Kemish said. “He always puts 100 percent in everything he does.”
Gonzalo Correa-Kemish said things might not come as easy for him as it does for others, but he believes people get back what they put in, in terms of effort. He said some of the courses he took were very intense, but he took advantage of after-hours access to maximize his opportunities to study.
“I don’t know how many times I have been here with a group of four or five people through the whole night, studying to be able to do good on the exam,” he said.
He said that with the job market in Peru, he’s not sure engineering would have even been an option for him. Now, as he closes in on his degree, he said he is almost through with designing a car and performing research in order to graduate with honors.
Correa-Kemish said he has already applied for jobs in North Carolina and Florida. He said it is important to be somewhere where his girlfriend can finish her nursing degree and then they can figure things out from there.
The mechanical engineering major said he’s hoping to eventually find work in NASCAR or motocross. He said his dream job would be working for Formula 1 or MotoGP as those organizations are the pinnacle of the sport.
Correa-Kemish said he thinks a lot of people may be apprehensive about pursuing their passion because they may feel they have to conform, worry about financial issues or other outside influences, but his advice is to chase those dreams anyway.
“I would say a lot of people don’t get to do what they love,” he said. “You might get kicked down a few times along the way, but if you want to do something that you love, don’t settle for anything less than that.”
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
