He will graduate this May with a double major in English and economics. Come October, he will be ensconced at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar working on a self-designed bachelor 's degree in jurisprudence philosophy. UNM was the conduit. But his small town experience seems to have given him a unique sense of the big picture. Success is a measure of how much you love the person you are.
People relate to the world outside by first understanding who they are.
Manuel's sense of self is clearly rooted in his Hispanic heritage and a close-knit family that includes two brothers and his mother. When he lost his father at the age of 7, his uncles and grandfathers stepped in to complete a formidable support system. The credence my family and others have given my dreams is phenomenal. Not surprisingly, Manuel has strong feelings about the way resources are allocated to rural areas. He has already attempted to address this inequity by instituting an honors program at his old high school.