Faces of CNM: Austin Garcia
Austin Garcia dropped out of high school to help his mom take care of his elderly grandmother, but with the support of CNM’s ACE Tutoring Services and the Assessment Center, he was able to resume his education and earn his GED.
Now, Austin is an outstanding, engaged and fun-loving college student making the most of his CNM experience. In addition to being an A student in the Political Science program and a Dean’s List regular, he’s the outreach officer for the Executive Council of Students (ECOS).
“My role as the outreach officer is to maintain relationships with all the club leaders and advisors to help organize events and any outreach efforts through ECOS,” Austin says. “I handle communications between us and the CNM Foundation, the bookstore and other organizations around campus.”
Austin says his favorite part of participating in ECOS is the opportunity to build a stronger and more informed student body through community engagement.
“I really enjoy the community outreach stuff that we do,” he says. “It’s just really cool to see the CNM community come together in different ways to support the students here.”
Austin is also a student employee in CNM’s Welcome Center. When current and prospective students enter the Student Services Center on Main Campus, Austin is one of the first people they see.
“He’s one of the politest people I think I’ve ever encountered,” says prospective student Jessica Harris. “He made me feel comfortable and helped me navigate the admissions process. I’m glad he was there to help me out.”
As a Welcome Center Peer Mentor, Austin helps connect students with the services they need.
“I can give them basic information on different degree paths that we offer,” he says. “I kind of just give them a guiding hand in whatever direction they need.”
When he graduates, Austin’s goal is to become a campaign coordinator. He says that his passion for politics has been reinforced by the amazing faculty in the School of Communications, Humanities & Social Sciences.
“I want to do campaign work. I want to be a campaign coordinator or a political analyst,” Austin says. “But I am keeping my options open. I could also see myself transferring to UNM to pursue a bachelor’s.”
Learn more about the Executive Council of Students and CNM’s Political Science Program.
