Dealing first with the COVID pandemic, then later the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak Fire, Carmelita Sanchez learned how to fight through adversity during her New Mexico Highlands University academic life. And what that has done has made her stronger, she says, in large part because of what Highlands University means to its students.

Sanchez, who graduated from Mora High School in 2019 and that fall entered Highlands University, just finished her MBA in healthcare administration, after earning a psychology degree with a minor in fine art in 2022.

“But it was a rough start. COVD happened, and for me, I was just starting to fit in right before COVID, then all taken away from me and I became very isolated, as we all were, and it was very hard for me to manage,” she says. “As COVID got a little more manageable, I was able to make those connections. I got a student job at the admissions office and I made professional connections and that was the foundation for me to be able to branch out. If I don’t make those connections, I would never have gotten to where I am.”

Where she is now is working as a staff member at the campus CARES office as a health and wellness coach, although she is looking to get more into the administration side of things.

“For me, it kind of shows, especially since I was able to do it so fast, that the support I got here at Highlands made it all possible,” Sanchez says of her degrees. “If I had gone to a bigger place, I don’t think I would have been able to do this. I’m from a local community and Highlands is more community based.”

Sanchez originally had planned to go into counseling as an art therapist, but as she progressed through her classes, she began to wonder if that was right for her. And being at a Highlands University meant she had a close rapport with her professors, who were able to act as sounding boards. And since she had the opportunity to already begin work in the field at CARES while still a student, she had the chance to get exposure that she might not otherwise have received at a larger, more impersonal school.

“Even working at Highlands was an opportunity because I was able to see where I was headed and that means a lot,” she says. “I don’t know what my career path would have been if I hadn’t gone to Highlands, but I wouldn’t have had opportunity to open my eyes to different possibilities.”

Still, she relishes her position at CARES.

“That’s why I love being able to work at Highlands. As a staff member, I can give back to students who were in my classes, or in the position that I was in,” Sanchez says. “I’m really able to connect with students on a different level.”

In many ways, she says, Highlands University is similar to Mora, just on a somewhat larger scale. If she were to go to Mora as a recruiter, that is something she would stress.

“That sense of community that you get at Highlands, it’s very similar to Mora because it’s very community based,” she says. “We’re so small and we know everybody by name. Highlands is at that level, just at the college level. If that’s what makes you comfortable and what you need to strive for success, this is the place.”