Mustafa Mudada is a freshman athlete at UNM, majoring in criminal justice. His usual day consists of waking up at 5:45 a.m., eating a little snack, getting ready, taking the bus, going to the locker room and changing into his workout clothes and arriving at the training room to stretch around 7 a.m. Some students believe that athletes get benefits and don’t work hard, Mudada said.
“Well, most people see being an athlete as being lazy, school isn’t hard, and we get by with all kinds of stuff. But realistically, being an athlete is like work, reporting to our practice is like going to a job, but we like it though, and there is so much more pressure added to it,” Mudada said.
Mudada gets home around 10 p.m., with only about seven hours to sleep before it is time to get up again and start over.
He hopes to run and represent his mother’s country, Sierra Leone, in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Mudada said he will continue to strive toward his goal and enjoy each day.
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PHOTO STORY: Albuquerque provides habitat for hundreds of bird species
December 2Albuquerque offers a wide range of bird habitat over a relatively small space. The Bosque ecosystem is home to riparian species, while the city provides habitat for more adaptive urban birds, and the Sandia Mountains provide a home to higher elevation species. Hundreds of resident and migratory birds settle in Albuquerque, according to the City of Albuquerque website. Albuquerque is one of 31 Urban Bird Treaty cities across the United States. UBT cities partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve birds and bird habitat, as well as provide educational and recreational opportunities in urban areas, according to the FWS website. The FWS highlights the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge as one of Albuquerque’s successes in bird conservation. The refuge is considered to be one of the “most ambitious urban conservation projects in the nation,” according to the FWS. In addition to Valle de Oro, birds can choose from many open spaces in Albuquerque that provide habitat, including the Bachechi Open Space, Rio Grande Nature Center State Park and even the University of New Mexico’s campus. The Bachechi Open Space is one of 17 Bernalillo County Open Space properties, according to the Bernalillo County website. The space offers wetland habitat, which attracts geese, ducks and herons. The Rio Grande Nature Center State Park provides habitat for over 300 species of birds, according to its website. During this time of year, sandhill cranes find food in the fields, and spotted towhee and duck species gather by feeders at the pond. UNM’s main campus hosts a total of 212 species of birds at different times throughout the year, according to Birding Hotspots. Even with the current Duck Pond renovation, trees and green space provide habitat for robins and roadrunners. Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06 Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
