Attending WNMU is a family affair for first-year student Stacey Bernstein. Her mother is also a student at the university, earning her Master’s of Social Work, and her younger sister, who is a senior in high school, is a dual-enrollment student at WNMU.
The family of six lives on 26 acres near Silver City with a bevy of animals: donkeys, a cow, chicken, geese, cats, a sugar glider and Saint Bernards, including a recent litter of puppies.
Whether surrounded by animals or humans, community is very important to Bernstein and one of the things she appreciates most about WNMU. “It is very community oriented,” she said of the university campus, “Every day I see friends that I went to high school with. It is nice to see familiar faces.”
Another reason for her to choose WNMU is that it is so close to home. Born in California, Bernstein and her family moved from Idaho to New Mexico just a few years ago, and she was ready to stay put. “I feel like I just had a big move,” she said, “I wasn’t really wanting to do that again right away.”
At WNMU, Bernstein is studying cell and molecular biology. She chose biology in part because she thought it would prepare her well for her top career choice: to become a dermatologist.
Bernstein explained her interest in the field. “After I graduated [high school],” she said, “I went to California because my grandparents live there, and a girl I went to elementary school with, her dad is a dermatologist, and he owns his own practice, so we got in contact with him, and I got to go shadow a day there. I got to follow him around, see what he did, how he did it.” That job shadowing experience helped confirm for Bernstein that dermatology was a field she would enjoy working in.
One of her favorite aspects of studying at WNMU is the small class size. “I feel like I really got to know my professors,” Bernstein said of her first semester, “When I needed help, I could reach out, and they would be, like, ‘I know who you are, I know what you are talking about.’”
She also feels involved in the campus community. “I have gone to a lot of the activities and feel very involved,” she said.
One activity Bernstein particularly enjoys is singing the national anthem at athletic events. “I love it,” she said, “I have been doing it since I was a freshman in high school. I started it for my Idaho high school, and when I got to Silver [High School], they just had the band doing it.” So she spoke with her high school principal, auditioned, and got the gig. She has continued to sing for Mustang Athletics.
Bernstein noted that while she has enjoyed her time at WNMU, she has struggled with one part of her college career: time management. Luckily, she has a good influence in her mother. “She is very impressive to me,” said Bernstein. “She manages a full-time job, four kids, a messy household, and she still manages to get better grades than me. She’s definitely a role model.”
Stacey Bernstein is a featured student in the upcoming Amazon Prime TV episode of “The College Tour” that was filmed on campus in November.