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“It’s really interesting to meet all the new people here who are from New Mexico, who are even from out of state,” UNM Student Bethany Brundage said. She came to UNM from Oregon three years ago. A new student trying to figure out how she fit in a new place. The same year, UNM’s Asian American Pacific Islanders Resource Center opened its doors. Brundage jumped in and has worked there from the start, feeling a sense of acceptance with others she’s gotten to know about.”My background is Chinese. I’m actually adopted by two Caucasian parents,” Brundage said. “Those people who are like different backgrounds like me who are not immersed with like their ethnicity they actually go there just to like relate to other people or like just to know their culture more.”The resource center is an accomplishment that the administration said students made a reality.”I really am grateful to the students who took that initiative and went to the university saying that we need this,” Farah Nousheen said.As a Student Success Specialist with the AAPI Resource Center, Nousheen can see students involved in the resource center have loved the addition to campus. However, it’s been a bumpy road. First, building code problems with the resource center’s original home.”We heard the news that our building has to be demolished,” Nousheen said.She did say they were surprised by a surge of support to help them carry on in a temporary location. Since last July, the resource center has been operating out of Mesa Vista Hall. It may not be much, but a better place is coming.This area is currently being renovated to give the Resource Center a permanent home on the UNM campus and eventually will give students opportunities for years to come. As a new space is being built, students still rely on the resource center because it offers students services, advising and scholarship information. Brundage said activities are bringing students together.For three years, the AAPI Resource Center at UNM has been giving students opportunities for scholarships, advising, education, and again, a sense of belonging. They might not feel belonging because they’re mixed race, they’re adopted, they’re queer. We really want to say that we are very inclusive.”I am able to carry my sense of like who I am as a Chinese American,” Brundage said. “It will definitely like have an impact on people once they graduate too.”UNM officials are expecting the new space to be open sometime this summer.
“It’s really interesting to meet all the new people here who are from New Mexico, who are even from out of state,” UNM Student Bethany Brundage said.
She came to UNM from Oregon three years ago. A new student trying to figure out how she fit in a new place. The same year, UNM’s Asian American Pacific Islanders Resource Center opened its doors. Brundage jumped in and has worked there from the start, feeling a sense of acceptance with others she’s gotten to know about.
“My background is Chinese. I’m actually adopted by two Caucasian parents,” Brundage said. “Those people who are like different backgrounds like me who are not immersed with like their ethnicity they actually go there just to like relate to other people or like just to know their culture more.”
The resource center is an accomplishment that the administration said students made a reality.
“I really am grateful to the students who took that initiative and went to the university saying that we need this,” Farah Nousheen said.
As a Student Success Specialist with the AAPI Resource Center, Nousheen can see students involved in the resource center have loved the addition to campus. However, it’s been a bumpy road. First, building code problems with the resource center’s original home.
“We heard the news that our building has to be demolished,” Nousheen said.
She did say they were surprised by a surge of support to help them carry on in a temporary location. Since last July, the resource center has been operating out of Mesa Vista Hall. It may not be much, but a better place is coming.
This area is currently being renovated to give the Resource Center a permanent home on the UNM campus and eventually will give students opportunities for years to come. As a new space is being built, students still rely on the resource center because it offers students services, advising and scholarship information. Brundage said activities are bringing students together.
For three years, the AAPI Resource Center at UNM has been giving students opportunities for scholarships, advising, education, and again, a sense of belonging. They might not feel belonging because they’re mixed race, they’re adopted, they’re queer. We really want to say that we are very inclusive.
“I am able to carry my sense of like who I am as a Chinese American,” Brundage said. “It will definitely like have an impact on people once they graduate too.”
UNM officials are expecting the new space to be open sometime this summer.