Aurelia Chavez

UNM-Valencia Visionary Grad, Class of 2025

Transcript

Hi. My name is Aurelia Chavez, and I'm from Mountainair, New Mexico. And I've grown up here my entire life. So, my mom is actually alumni from Mountainair High School, and my grandparents are from Mountainair. They've lived there their entire lives, as well as my dad. He went to Estancia High School. So, I've just grown up in this community my entire life, I've come from several generations, and I first started taking dual enrollment classes my freshman year of high school. My Gear Up coordinator, Denise Smyth, originally came and talked to me about taking these college classes to get both high school credits as well as college credits to prepare me for my future.

I found taking dual enrollment classes online to be very beneficial because I could be doing my high school work as well as taking these college classes online.

And these classes, like my public speaking, really helped me excel in my FFA with my judging, talking to others, and also with like relations between our community and going out to get sponsorships for our chapter.

So, I'm in a lot of sports. I'm in volleyball, basketball, track and cheerleading, as well as FFA and student council. So being able to really do those classes online helps me like achieve my goals as well as being in high school because I can do them on the sport trips or on my FFA judging trips. So, I didn't have to be just at the high school. And as I was taking these classes, I also had several students at my high school who were with me in these classes. So, it also helps that I had people to bounce off ideas or ask for help, like with assignments or like what they thought about this. So, it really helped me as I was getting started, my dual enrollment journey like freshman and sophomore year, because the people who are in these classes with me were seniors and getting ready to go out into the world.

So, this is Mountainair High School's CTE shop. This is where I have taken the bulk of my classes and in this shop. I've done many projects. I've built trailer blocks, I've welded on cattle shoots, I've worked on several cars, and I even assisted in building a shed, and metal statues, as well as community service projects. I have also been OSHA 10 certified with- in the shop, so I could do like the basic construction. I know the safety procedures and being that these credits have made up most of my degree, I'm getting my associate degree in integrative studies. And being that I'm getting that is helping me with my future so I don't have to spend as much in college, and it's given me a great support system, because here I've been able to go to my counselor and my Gear Up coordinator, as well as my shop teacher for their help and support with my classes in high school as well as online.

My future plans are to attend a four-year university and major in chemical engineering. I've got several scholarships so far, so I'm just deciding on where I would like to go. I want to pursue chemical engineering because I've been really drawn to, like, the STEM field, and I truly like, like, building things and doing experiments and science. So, I chose chemical engineering to start off with. And my overall goal is- like for my career is to work at a national laboratory and build explosives. So, I thought chemical engineering would be a good fit.

I wanted to thank all of my teachers and mentors, my advisor, Mr. Encinias and Ms. Denise Smythe, because I truly would not be where I am without them and all of my support that I have at Mountainair High School. I'd also like to thank my mom for being my biggest supporter, because she has truly been there every step of the way, and I truly do not know what I would do without her.