Three months into his job as a student firefighter for New Mexico State University’s Fire Department, Arath Ronquillo responded to a fateful incident that helped pave his way to earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Ronquillo will be among a class of more than 1,200 students who receive degrees this week at NMSU.
NMSU will host a commencement ceremony for recipients of master’s and doctoral degrees at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at the Pam American Center, followed by a separate ceremony for recipients of bachelor’s degrees at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, also at the Pam American Center.
Ronquillo, a Las Cruces native, joined the NMSU Fire Department in 2020. At the time, he was a biology student pursuing a general interest in the medical field. All that changed one morning shift in early 2021 when he assisted on a call involving a gunshot victim. It was an adrenaline-filled experience that opened his eyes to a career as a critical care nurse.
“When we got on the scene, the flight nurse immediately got my attention,” Ronquillo recalled. “They took over the call as soon as they stepped off the helicopter. Their thought process really caught my eye. They were thinking five steps ahead, and that’s what got me interested in nursing.”
From there, Ronquillo enrolled in NMSU’s nursing program. It was an ideal fit as he could apply what he learned as a firefighter to his nursing studies, and vice versa.
“Working at the fire department was hard but worth it,” he said. “More than anything, it prepared me for the nursing program and gave me a boost of confidence. When I started the program, I remember other students were nervous to talk to patients, but I had plenty of experience that helped out a bunch.”
Soon, Ronquillo will leave the fire department and begin his career. He’s planning to gain experience as an intensive care nurse at a hospital before possibly returning to school to specialize in a program for certified registered nurse anesthetists.
Like many students at NMSU, Ronquillo is the first member of his immediate family to earn a college degree. As such, participating in the upcoming undergraduate commencement ceremony is especially meaningful for Ronquillo.
“For myself, it’s a big deal because there were times I doubted whether I could finish,” he said. “But working at a hospital has been my dream, and that kept me going.”
Andres Alvarez, who will earn a Ph.D. in civil engineering, plans to travel from South Bend, Indiana, to Las Cruces to participate in Friday’s commencement ceremony.
Alvarez moved to Indiana two years ago to work as a research visitor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, where he worked with his adviser, Brad Weldon, whom he first met at NMSU. Earlier this year, Alvarez received a job opportunity at an engineering firm. He completed his dissertation while working for Lochmueller Group as part of its structural team.
Alvarez grew up in Ciudad Juárez and first came to NMSU more than a decade ago. He previously earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in 2016 and 2019, respectively. His research interests include ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), bridge rehabilitation and bridge deck overlays. Before relocating to Indiana, he gained work experience at the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the City of Las Cruces’ Construction Management Office.
“I think I’m speaking for everyone in the Ph.D. program, but there are some pretty stressful moments,” he said. “That’s where my friends and family really supported me.”
One of those supportive friends was Alvarez’s roommate, Eduardo Davila, who’s also in the same Ph.D. program and works for the same company.
Alvarez plans to continue his work in South Bend after graduation. But he’d like to return to academia in the future.
“It’s my goal to return to academia and teach after gaining more professional experience,” he said. “I’ve had such wonderful professors who helped me along my academic journey, and I’d like to do the same one day.”
The Pan American Center will open to the public one hour before each commencement ceremony. Tickets are not required. Graduating students should also arrive one hour before the ceremonies start. A clear bag policy remains in effect at the Pam American Center. Gift bags, balloons and signs are among restricted items.
The NMSU Board of Regents will present an honorary doctoral degree to Gale Harvey during Friday’s ceremony. Harvey graduated from NMSU in 1962 and went on to have a decades-long career as a physicist at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
The two ceremonies will be livestreamed on NMSU’s YouTube channel. For more information, visit https://commencement.nmsu.edu.
