New Mexico State University student Natalie Flores originally hails from Deming, NM, just 60 miles west of Las Cruces, but for Natalie, college was not always the plan. 

Though she started school later than many of her peers, her time at NMSU will be well worth it, as she was the first person in her family to graduate high school, and the first person to graduate college. 

Natalie says that she did not come from a family where college was expected of her, but her teachers in high school pushed her to further her education. 

“My family never really pushed me to go to college, it was my teachers in high school who pushed me to go. But I got pregnant at a young age, so I dropped out of high school for a semester,” said Flores. “One of my teachers told me that there was a program for teenage moms, and she convinced me to go back to high school. I did alternative school and I was able to graduate with my class. I was a mom when I graduated high school, and I was expecting my second child.”

Before moving to Las Cruces, Natalie worked in Deming at a few different locations because her priority was to make money for her family. Her most influential job was working with Border Foods as a supervisor.

“I became a supervisor at Border Food, but they were still paying me minimum wage. I was getting paid less than the men I worked with to do the same job. That was a real eye opener for me. One of the women I worked with told me that I should go to school, and in 2010, I started my degree at DACC.”

Now a mother of three, Natalie’s journey to NMSU was not any easier than her journey through high school. She started off as a student as DACC, but her credits will not transfer to NMSU.

“I started off at DACC, and my degree didn’t transfer. I was halfway through my BOT degree [Associate’s in Business Office Technology], and I had to start over at NMSU” said Natalie.

Additionally, Natalie says, she wanted to finish her associate’s degrees even if they did not transfer credits. “I am the first person in my family to have a college degree. I already have two different associate’s degrees. I finished my BOT degree even though it didn’t transfer here [NMSU].”

While she is going to school, and being a full time mom of three, Natalie is also working for a pecan shelling factory as a quality assurance coordinator. Her background in food led her to this job, and through them, she is able to attend many trainings with HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and SQF (Safe Quality Food).

After graduating with her bachelors, Natalie would like to pursue a masters in order to work at her dream job. “I like the jobs of the people who teach those courses. They get to travel and teach you about the food industry, so I got really interested in their job,” Flores said.

Flores is a first-year college student, but with her experience in the food industry she is confident in her degree choice now. However, she did say that when she was younger, she wished she had thought about what degree would interest her most.

“I wish I had known what I wanted to do when I first started college, but I’m already halfway there. I’m going to get a bachelors and achieve a masters, and we’ll see if that’s my dream job is.”

Though Flores is older than the typical first-year college student, she says no one treats her any differently. In fact, people often mistake her for being younger than she really is.

“To be honest, I don’t feel older than anyone I’m going to school with.” “People never believe I’m 31, and no one I have class with has ever treated me different.”

Flores says that as a mother, she wants the best for her kids. She wants her children to go straight into college, and get a degree they’re passionate about.

“As a parent, I want to push my kids and make sure that they are going to college. I always ask my kids what they want to do when they grow up because I want them to do better than I am.”

Education never really ends, and Flores encourages students of all ages to continue to push themselves.

“The only thing I can say is never give up. Age is just a number, so it’s never too late to go to school and achieve your goals.”