February 15, 2017 – New Mexico State University @ Roswell & @ Carlsbad

41 degrees as I set off to explore Roswell New Mexico this morning at 8:30 am.  The UFO museum was not even opened yet and being a participant in the Internet deconstruction of reality based experience, I had already chosen to take a pass on by the museum based on reading Internet reviews last night.  I contended myself with a quick visit to the gift store across the street and made my way to the local community college.  En route I passed the New Mexico Military Academy.  With its crenelated sandstone buildings and Harvard lawn layout it was much more impressive than the museum which is housed in an old movie theater. 

New Mexico State University @ Roswell

This college is located a few miles out of town by the airport.  It too reminded me in location of a military base.   A point reinforced by the students (ROTC?) marching in formation around the parking lots.  Today’s exploration focused first on housing.  There were parking lot signs indicating residence halls on campus.  Winding my way into a recreational facility I found confirmation from a student at the front desk that yes, students lived on campus.  I am very familiar with dorms (lived in one myself for a year) but not on community college campuses, perhaps this was a hybrid situation given the unity of the NMSU system and its community colleges.  Answers came when I crossed the lot into the residence halls and spoke with their director.  She was very friendly (as have been all the people I have met here in New Mexico).   She had been working at the college for the past 8 years and explained to me that the dorms were run by an outside company contracted to the university.  I did not write down the name but its one of the largest leaseholder of college residence facilities in the country.   As we spoke she fielded resident’s questions about social activities, and needs.  I could see her role was sort of a hybrid student services facilities manager. 

The facilities themselves were not dorms as I remembered them.  The common areas I saw looked more like high-end luxury apartments.  Thinking about the gym facilities I had just gone through, this was a pretty nice set up.  I did not ask price but I’m sure it was not cheep.  The articles I have read about universities focusing more on amenities than education came to mind.  But really, here at a rural community college of less than 4000 students in Roswell?…  

Later I ran into a few ladies from the business office who were making decorations for a Valentines Day social event later in the day and they directed me to the area of the campus where the biology labs were.  As I walked by one lab I overheard the professor lecturing on adrenal glands and I knew I had stumbled upon the anatomy and physiology classes.  I waited around for the lab to end and had a delightful conversation with the instructor.   Many of our organizational issues are the same and it was very clear that regardless of SLO’s or “Flipped Classrooms” we both had the same educational standards and faced the same challenges with our student populations.  One telling thing about a good instructor, when you ask them what’s the greatest challenge of their job?; the answer focuses on their students needs not their own…

New Mexico State University at Carlsbad

In the afternoon I traveled the brisk 70 miles south to Carlsbad where I planned on overnighting before visiting the caverns.  The cold has really taken it out of me and I was tired.  Too tired to keep meeting new people.  (Believe it or not being an extrovert does not come easy to me so these visits meeting new people are not without effort)  But as I approached from the north I saw the sign to NMSU at Carlsbad and I had to stop and visit.  I only spoke with one Physics instructor who confirmed the impression the campus had given me.  The college at Carlsbad is small (only ~1800 students) but it is a jewel.  The campus is designed around one large multi storied building that wraps itself around a light filled atrium.  Given the cold of the day it was warm and I’m sure in the heat of the summer its cool.  It’s like an oasis mini college.  All the departments and programs interconnect in hallways with lots of lounge space just to hang out and everybody seemed to know each other. It was a beautiful little community of higher education.  

I found the instructor for Anatomy & Physiology but did not have the energy to wait again until they were done with their instruction to talk with them.  Instead went into town and did laundry in preparation for the next day.  Tomorrow I am very excited to visit The National Park at Carlsbad Caverns.  I have always wanted to go explore underground, having never spelunked before.  

Sadly after that I have to push across Texas, if it does not warm up by the end of tomorrow I don’t know if I’ll make it…