Editor,
Teachers in the Political Science and English departments care about their students.
I am a senior majoring in English and Political Science. When I first came to UNM in 2007 I was a pre-med student studying chemistry and biology.
I spent my first two years in that field, until I took American Politics with Dr. Michael Rocca in the Political Science Department and a creative writing course with Greg Martin, a professor in the English Department.
It didn’t take long for me to recognize that these teachers had something special: passion. These teachers showed not only a genuine interest in my education and my coursework, but were also passionate about being educators.
I saw that Martin and Rocca were not college professors for their own personal gain or to further their own research projects.
They are college professors because they are passionate about educating students.
After my experience in those courses, I changed my majors to English and Political Science because those teachers instilled a passion within me about their subjects.
This was the best decision I have made in my four years at UNM. The staff and faculty have continually worked to better my educational experience on and off campus.
The English department has provided me with phenomenal advisement, instruction and life skills.
This fall, the English department is allowing me to complete the final hours of my degree abroad in England, an opportunity that comes once-in-a-lifetime.
My English teachers know me by name, and encourage out-of-class interaction through e-mail and spending one-on-one time with me to answer my questions regarding coursework, future courses and future career opportunities.
They truly want only the best for me and are relentlessly encouraging and challenging me to be better.
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The political science department funded and allowed me to spend an entire semester in Washington, D.C., interning for a member of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation. This experience changed my life forever by providing real-life skills through working full-time in a professional workplace, living in a different culture and region of the country and learning essential aspects of the American way of government first-hand.
This was an opportunity that can never be fully explored by reading a textbook or attending class.
I also had the opportunity to volunteer on a political campaign last semester during the 2010 election, another rewarding experience. Most importantly, my political science professors have challenged, confirmed, and provoked my personal political views and made me defend my beliefs with solid reasoning — an instructional method that will serve me well in the future.
Any student still debating which major to choose should seriously consider majoring in English and/or political science.
The department chairs, faculty, and staff of these departments have my deepest respect, appreciation and adoration, for they have inspired my life.
Chelsea Stallings
UNM Student
