Education feature: ENMU fall commencement to set record

PORTALES - Eastern New Mexico University is set to graduate its largest class for a fall semester on Saturday with 563 students earning degrees.

"It's great, I was delighted," said Jeff Elwell, president of the Portales campus and chancellor of ENMU's three-college system. "We made a priority helping students complete their degrees so if I'm correct last fall we graduated 495 and this 563 is tremendous progress and it means the efforts we're making to help our students get their degrees and move on to success is working."

Interim registrar Delynn Bargas said 259 students are planning on participating in Saturday's commencement ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. in Greyhound Arena, and that this year the number of students receiving associate's degrees is a bit higher than normal.

Elwell attributed that to the university's efforts over the past few years to let students who are pursuing four-year degrees know when they've met the qualifications to receive a two-year degree.

"We find some people have earned a degree but aren't moving on at this moment to a four-year degree so in the last three or four years we research it and let people know that if they'd like to be awarded a two-year degree that they've earned it," Elwell said.

Richard Schwartz, an associate professor in the department of music, will give the commencement address. Elwell said Schwartz earned that honor by receiving one of the faculty awards for teaching at the university's spring commencement.

Schwartz told The News that he plans to tell a story about one of the well-known performers he's worked with during his music career.

"I'm going to talk about an experience of mine with Aretha Franklin," Schwartz said. "As a musician I've performed with well-known performers, just like many of my colleagues, but I'm going to discuss a moment of my life that I had an opportunity to perform with Aretha Franklin and I'm going to relate that to the graduates how perhaps there are some elements in that story that could help them in the future."

While surely he did not teach all 563 students earning degrees this fall, he said those in the music department were a hard-working bunch.

"I'm very proud of their accomplishments," Schwartz said.

One student Schwartz singled out was Andres Labastida, who recently completed a semester of student teaching at several Clovis schools and will receive a bachelor's of music education and bachelor's of music in instrumental performance at Saturday's ceremony.

Born in Albuquerque before moving to Hobbs and graduating from Hobbs High School, Labastida told The News that he came to ENMU largely because of Dustin Seifert, the chair of the university's music department.

"He's the whole reason why I came to Eastern in the first place. I'm from Hobbs and him being so involved with that district and the other districts surrounding Hobbs, he was well known in that area," Labastida said.

Since July he has taught at Clovis High School, all three middle schools and three elementary schools in Clovis where he has helped the marching band prepare for competitions, helped the CHS honor band get ready for its upcoming performance in front of the New Mexico Music Educators Association and observed elementary music students.

"The best part is just working with these kids," Labastida said. "I've known a few of them for a couple years now and so to go down and see them every day, learn from them and teach them all that I can, that's been a good experience."

That experience will certainly come in handy after graduation when he is set to become the director of bands and in charge of music education for the Clayton Municipal Schools district, teaching kids from kindergarten through high school.

He credited that job opportunity to the help he received from the faculty and staff of ENMU's music department.

"I know for sure that I wouldn't be where I'm at right now if it wasn't for the staff and for everyone there helping me and everyone else out from my first day as a freshman," Labastida said.

Labastida, who told The News that his primary instrument is the euphonium, in addition to playing the trombone, tuba, clarinet and singing, said he has gone through a range of emotions leading up to graduation.

"I'm more or less nervous. OK of course I'm excited, but sort of nervous because that means I have to move forward with my life; that's the scary part," Labastida said.