Alfredo Rios, 23, on kids, work, school and how they all fit together.
Daily Lobo: Where do you think you will be in five years?
Alfredo Rios: In five years, I should be on a military base, who knows where. It could be anywhere. It could be Iraq. It could be Afghanistan. It could be Guam, you never know. But that's where I see myself in five years - definitely on a military installation.
DL: How has having a child affected you in pursuing your college education?
AR: People would think that maybe having a kid might have gotten in the way or rerouted the whole plan, but actually, having a kid and being a student helped me focus on my priorities. My kid has actually given me a lot of inspiration for pursuing my degree and finishing it off.
DL: How do you divide your time between work and school?
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AR: Well the way I look at it, I have about four things going on: my family life, my own social life with my peers, school and work. So what I've done is at work, I've applied for a college part-time position. And then when I get home, I get to spend time with the family. My son and me will go up to my parent's house and spend a weekend over there. You know, doing whatever, hanging out and barbecuing, family bonding stuff.
DL: Would you like your child to go to UNM? Why or why not?
AR: I would definitely encourage my child to go to UNM. I believe, if there was a term for it, UNM is a user-friendly school. It's a beautiful campus with a lot of resources, a really great environment for people and the community.
DL: So overall how would you rate your UNM experience?
AR: On a scale of one to 10, I would give UNM a 10, definitely.
-Rickey Apodaca
