Although Cody Rivera still has two semesters to go to finish up his undergraduate degree in business administration, he was always destined to go to New Mexico Highlands University.
Rivera’s mom earned both an undergraduate degree and a master’s in social work from Highlands University and his dad has been a fulltime staff member as the general maintenance manager.
“So I’m just continuing the family legacy,” he says.
And Rivera had a pretty good idea of just what it means to be a Cowboy.
“What being a Highlands student means to me is somebody who can get involved with other students of all backgrounds and diversity,” he says. “Being an outgoing student and being able to talk to anybody, being able to network with people and be involved in all types of activities on campus.”
That’s something that Rivera takes to heart as he has been the Highlands University student regent since 2022 and before that, a member of the student senate, where he was the parliamentarian.
“It’s been an interesting ride, that’s for sure,” he says.
As a member of the regents, he was elected the secretary/treasurer, but by far the top of his list has been sitting in on the search for a new president.
“I was able to have input on the president search. That’s the biggest thing we’ve done,” he said of the process that eventually named Dr. Neil Woolf to the position.
As the youngest member of the regents, Rivera said he has a special interest in issues that directly impact students and will always champion them.
“Advocating for students’ needs at the highest level is something I take a lot of pride in,” he says. “My main focus this past year and one of my big priorities is remodeling some of our outdated residential buildings.”
Having his voice heard on the board among the more seasoned members is something that Rivera says he strives to do as well.
“The biggest thing I have taken away from being on the board is that probably you just need to trust yourself and trust your own opinion and stand up for what is right,” he says. “Especially for me being the youngest guy on the board, it’s easy for somebody to use that as a weakness and to get something out of me but you have to respect yourself and make a decision that is right.”
That’s something that being at Highlands University has re-enforced, Rivera says, and will be of use in his future, as well.
“I want to get involved in at some point public service,” he says. “I don’t know what that might be, maybe as a state representative or as a state senator, but that’s something I want to do. Being able to speak up for the little guy, well there are a lot of unrepresented voices that go unheard and having somebody that can go through and make change, that’s something I hope to be able to do at the state level.”