Graduate serves her country

Eastern New Mexico University graduate Lt. Col. Emily Perry is currently serving with the U.S. Army in Kuwait.

Perry started her training at Eastern in its ROTC program, finishing the program as a second lieutenant. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from ENMU, graduating in 1987 with her master’s in English.

“Emily was a stand-out ROTC cadet and a leader among her peers,” said Associate Professor of English Patrice Caldwell, who directed Perry’s thesis. “She was so serious that some never saw her wonderful sense of humor. She was an exceptional student and graduate student.”

Perry actually completed her master’s long distance.

During her stay in Kuwait, she was invited to be a guest speaker for “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet,” sponsored by the Area Support Group-Kuwait. She sent home a program for her mother, Miriam Deen, a ENMU instructor of English.

Xcel Energy provides money

David Essex of Xcel Energy recently presented Noelle Bartl, executive director of the ENMU Foundation, with a $5,000 check for the ENMU Alliance for Minority Participation program. The AMP program enables individuals from minority groups to finance higher education through scholarships and undergraduate research assistantships specifically focusing on science, technology, engineering and math. This is the sixth year that Xcel Energy has funded the ENMU program.

Elder honored for broadcasting

Donald “Doc” Elder III, professor of history, has won two awards from the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. Elder won first place in the “Play by Play” sports category for calling ENMU and Portales High School games. He and partner Kevin Robbins also won for “DJ Personality Aircheck” for “The Morning Throwdown with Kevin and Doc” on KSEL radio in Portales.

ENMU teaches teachers

Students in ENMU’s summer session of “Historical Connections” experienced history first-hand.

Donald “Doc” Elder from ENMU and Mike Powers from Clovis Community College taught a group of public school teachers about New Mexico’s colorful past.

Along with the in-class instruction, the course included two day trips. The first was to Ft. Sumner and the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation, while the second was to Alamogordo to visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History and White Sands National Monument.

The course highlighted two main themes in New Mexican history: the American Civil War in New Mexico and New Mexico in the space and nuclear age.

The teachers take the class for free and receive a stipend. They also receive software for their classrooms which allows them to receive instant feedback from students on what concepts need to be revisited.