The WNMU Dual Enrollment program, which allows New Mexico’s secondary students to take college coursework while completing high school, has been steadily increasing in enrollment in recent years, with a record 509 students enrolled this spring. This May, 75 of those students are earning a WNMU certificate, degree, or both in addition to graduating from high school.
By taking dual credit courses, students are able to get a head start on their futures, whether they are on the road to a career or to higher education. Joshua Estrada, who is graduating with an associate’s degree in Welding Technology from WNMU as well as earning his high school diploma from Aldo Leopold Charter School, described his experience at the university as “a sort of second home to go to after school. Dual Enrollment consumed a lot of my time but the people and classes along the way were really worth the time and effort to get me where I am now.”
According to his high school counselor, Cheryl Head, Estrada is a first-generation college graduate and the youngest of five children to a single, disabled mother. He has been the sole caretaker for his mother for the past five years, while also attending school full time. The dual enrollment program has allowed him to become certified as a welder and prepared him for the workforce.
Cody Foster, of Cliff High School, is also earning his welding certification through WNMU. He credits welding instructor Larry Martinez for preparing him to pass his 6G test, the exam that allows welders to become certified. Like Estrada, Foster is graduating high school already prepared to enter the workforce. Said his high school counselor Tommye Allsup, Foster is “years ahead because of the Dual Enrollment program. Instead of just starting the Welding Technology coursework after he graduates high school, he is highly qualified to land a great job in a trade and begin his career right away.”
Completing a dual enrollment degree or certificate can also give students financial stability as they continue their education. Alicia Jarrott, a graduating senior at Lordsburg High School, has completed both Welding Technology and Certified Nursing Assistant coursework through WNMU. She plans to attend WNMU to earn her BSN in Nursing but said that the Welding Technology experience gives her a sense of security moving forward. “I will always be grateful to have a backup plan in case nursing falls through,” she said.
In addition to preparing students to enter the workforce, the Dual Enrollment Program also provides college-level preparation for students looking to continue their education. Gavin Chuy, from Cobre High School, said by “being able to be exposed to college level assignments, [I could] apply what I learned in my efforts in my high school courses.” Chuy is graduating with a WNMU Associate’s degree.
Through dual enrollment, high school students are also afforded the kind of hands-on learning that WNMU is known for. Ryan Chadwick, who is graduating from Silver High School while earning his Associates of Arts degree, said that his Wildland Fire class was especially memorable due to the field exercises. “Hands-on experience reinforced our understanding and highlighted the practical relevance of what we were taught,” he said.
While many dual enrollment students attend high school in southwest New Mexico and can experience hands-on learning on and nearby the WNMU campus, the Dual Enrollment Program also offers classes at sites outside of the Silver City area. This semester, for example, several graduating seniors from Zuni High School and Twin Buttes High School in Zuni are earning certificates in Welding and Construction Technologies from WNMU. Students in the welding program at Zuni had opportunities to travel even farther afield as part of their educational experience. These field trips were a highlight of the program, said Ekylea Albert, who is graduating with a certificate in Welding Technology. Through the program, she said, “I was given the opportunity to travel to new places [including the Houston campus of the Tulsa Welding School and to Anaheim, CA]. I learned more about technology and the processes of how to pursue this career course in welding.”
Dual Enrollment Coordinator Jennifer Morales said that the growth in dual enrollment numbers has been due to increased outreach under the leadership of Jessica Enriquez, Director of Graduate Admissions and Outreach Programs. “Together we have improved our dual enrollment goals and extended our outreach to this population of students and their supporting systems at home,” said Morales. “In the past year we have grown the dual enrollment program to an exciting new number, that [has] exceeded our past enrollments. I am looking forward to continuing this trend in future semesters and really expanding our resources.”