While many students had traditional summer vacations—going to the beach, working at temporary jobs in their hometowns or attending summer school—this issue of Eastern Magazine features a number who had out-of-the-ordinary experiences.

You will read fascinating true tales about students broadening their horizons with trips, missions and internships in the U.S. and abroad. Some were trying out their future careers, some wanted hands-on experience and others wanted to challenge themselves by moving out of their comfort zones.

The inspiration for this series of stories is Shannon Saltclah, a Native American biology major who graduated in 2008. During her college career, she dedicated five summers to research and health care projects, including a prestigious National Institutes of Health assignment in Bethesda, Md. Now a pharmacy school student in Albuquerque, she came back to Portales to visit friends a few weeks ago.
Stories like Shannon’s—and those of the students you’ll meet in this issue—show that Eastern students have the talent and determination to thrive wherever they go. Eastern’s reputation attracts students who are not content to simply earn degrees; they want to have a meaningful impact on the world. We are very proud of them.

To equip these students for success, ENMU needs campus facilities that are state-of-the-art. I want to thank New Mexico voters who invested in us by supporting Bond D in the November general election. Your votes brought $12 million to ENMU and $140 million to higher education projects across New Mexico. At ENMU, this includes $9 million for a new Technology Building, $2 for infrastructure improvements and $1 million to complete renovation of the Music Building.

Campus improvements will help us attract bright, motivated students and keep Eastern moving forward. We strive to offer high-quality programs with a personal touch at an affordable cost.

To everyone who voted for Bond D, and to all our readers, thank you for being there for us.