Meghan Kelly has been attending UNM for 4 years. Kelley, who is receiving a degree in finance and accounting, managed to graduate with a 4.1 GPA. She was given a full scholarship to the St. Louis School of Law.
miss most about being at UNM and being an undergraduate?
Meghan Kelly: Anderson's computer lab, the pretty campus, knowing people and the familiarity of the campus, accounting classes.
DL: What are you most apprehensive of when going to graduate school?
MK: Learning the new city. I've lived in New Mexico since I was two.
DL: What is the scholarship you received for law school?
MK: The 1843 scholarship. One hundred twenty people applied and they choose around 10.
DL: What do you want to do when you finish graduate school?
MK: I would like to be a corporate attorney, but that may change.
DL: What are you not going to miss about UNM?
MK: Trying to find parking.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
DL: Are there any changes you would like to see done to UNM?
MK: A higher quality of education comes with a higher price. I would like UNM to become prestigious in comparison to the rest of the universities in the country.
DL: What's your favorite quote?
MK: "People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be," Abraham Lincoln.
DL: Any last advice?
MK: School is important. So is having fun and having a life. Some people can get so wrapped up in school they forget what else is important.
- Paula Bowker
Joe Ulibarri is graduating this month with a degree in economics. He said he originally intended to be a math major, but decided he wouldn't make any money with that degree. Ulibarri said he debated between economics and international business before settling on his major.
Daily Lobo: Do you wish you had done anything differently?
Joe Ulibarri: Now that I think about it, I wish that I had thought about secondary education. The program just seems easier from what I've heard.
DL: What were you hoping to get out of your college experience?
JU: A degree, but it was strange. You see all of those movies of East Coast colleges with big trees, but I really wanted that experience that Hollywood made it out to be.
DL: So you were disappointed?
JU: Oh yeah. Hollywood totally lied to me. I mean I was an 18-year-old punk kid that didn't know anything. They don't tell you about staying up till one in the morning doing papers or the addiction to coffee you will develop.
DL: Where are you heading after graduation?
JU: Graduate school, here at UNM, and I will also begin working at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Right now I have been working on a census expansion project.
DL: Are you nervous about graduation day?
JU: Oh yeah. It has just been coming on more and more recently, like "what do I do next?" I try to console myself like "I'm still going to be in school, I'm still going to be in school," but I know that it is going to be different.
- Xochitl Campos
Senior Isaac Cardona will receive two undergraduate degrees this month, one in criminology and one in English pre-law. Cardona thought about attending law school, but a Teach for America representative talked him into joining the program. He'll be heading to Houston, Texas, to take part in Teach for America on June 8.
Daily Lobo: What do you hope to get out of Teach for America?
Isaac Cardona: I guess just the knowledge that I could help somebody.
DL: What do you think will be the most challenging part?
IC: I've never taught. That's probably going to be the most challenging thing. Just getting the kids to open up to a young kid. I just turned 21, so I won't be that much older than middle school students.
DL: What are your plans after you finish Teach for America?
IC: Either get a Ph.D. or a J.D., I haven't decided yet. DL: What's your favorite thing about UNM?
IC: I really like the community. I'm in a lot of different organizations and it's just really great. As a freshman I didn't do anything, it was kind of like "I hate UNM, I wish I'd gotten to go to State."
DL: What's your favorite memory at UNM?
IC: I would say it was picking up luminarias because we came at two o'clock in the morning, and it was just really random that we would be here at that time. So we had to clean them up, and we just walked around campus. It was all lit up.
DL: Is there any advice you would give students at UNM?
IC: Don't leave your thesis till the last minute. Mine's here today, I'm still trying to finish it up. Oh, and get involved in campus activities.
- Caleb Fort
