Have you ever wondered what the previous Eastern New Mexico University Homecoming King is up to? More specifically, the Homecoming King of 2011-2012?

Michael Neurauter lives in his hometown Raton, New Mexico, and is working at the Miner's Colfax Medical Center as the human resources associate. For the last five years, he's had a rich career working for MCMC and as a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutritionist.

He graduated from ENMU in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in physical education with an emphasis in community health.

"[My experience at Eastern] was very rewarding because I got to grow and glow into the professional I am," explained Michael. "You go from being a young adult to a professional, and every skill I learned [at ENMU] has helped me so much in my career."

He was very active during his undergraduate years. He was crowned Homecoming King his senior year and he worked as a Dawg Days counselor, the Safe Ride director and in Campus Life.

Michael earned multiple awards as a student, such as the "Rising Star" award, picked by Student Affairs Vice President (2012), "Student Employee of the Year" (2012), "Dawg Days Counselor of the Year" (2011) and ENMU's National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) "Student of the Year" (2013).

He was also the Boot Camp instructor in the arena, and his classes were always fully registered for.

[Side note from author: I was one of his spring semester boot camp students, and I loved his class so much I enrolled in his summer workout class in Raton.]

After graduation, Michael moved back to Raton to begin his career and be close to his family, which "is everything to me, especially after being away from them for four years.

"I wanted to be near my grandparents. I just lost my grandfather, but I was able to be with and see him live his last chapter."

He got a job as the activities director for the MCMC Long-Term Care Facility, a five-star facility on reserve for coal miners and the coal miners' families of New Mexico.

Inside the facility are large painted murals down every hallway which tell a story and a history about coal miners, and there are many portraits and pictures of the coal miners whom worked in Raton's mines.

"One mural has a yellow canary, and miners used to send a yellow canary into the coal mines to see if they were safe. If they came back, it meant that the coal mines weren't safe to go inside because they might have poisonous debris inside," Michael explains.

As the activities director, he created the activities calendar for the elderly residents. He worked to organize shopping days, bingo, karaoke and live music for the residents to enjoy.

"My entire life, all I ever wanted to do was help people. Working with the elderly was one of the most profound and liberating experiences of my life," said Michael.

"I loved working with [the residents] because they always talked with you about simple things like how to fix a sink, and they always told the cutest jokes and never forgot you. They know every secret to life and they appreciate the small things in life."

After spending two and a half years at the long-term facility, Michael started working in the WIC program teaching moms about their own nutrition and wellness, as well as their babies', and teaching moms to breastfeed.

When Michael was an activities director, he was privileged to be a part of the final chapter of each resident's life. As he transitioned into WIC, he became a part of the first chapter of life. Michael jokes that he went from hanging out with 80-year-olds to eight-month-olds.

The job allowed him to do a lot of traveling to attend conferences throughout New Mexico. He thought it was "really cool"  to see so many amazing guest speakers, see workers care and take an active interest in health and to see the differences in teaching styles about new health trends.

Today, Michael is a human resources associate for the acute care MCMC, which is one of two facilities in Raton, helping to be the people's advocate. His job has many aspects that include skills he acquired from his time at Eastern, such as recruiting and being creative. He is a part of hiring, staff appreciation, creating growing plans, payroll, interviewing and organizing 280 staff members.

"MCMC is an awesome hospital with knowledgeable staff. I love my boss and department because we are a close-knit family. I feel so blessed and honored," he said.

Michael wants ENMU students to know a few things: "This is the best time of your life, so have fun, learn, make friends and get out there and out of your comfort zone. Get out there and apply for that job and ask that person out. Enjoy your time at Eastern because it will shape you into who you will be."