Greyhound Grad Andrew Anaya is well-suited for his role as a recruiter and transfer specialist at Eastern New Mexico University. If you walk into the Transfer Center, located in the Office of Enrollment Services, there is a good chance you can catch Andrew in festive attire.
"I have a holiday-themed suit for almost every holiday of the year, including Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving," shared Andrew, who received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from ENMU in May 2017.
His job duties include counseling students and parents about postsecondary transfer educational options and recruiting them to ENMU, as well as conducting individual and group information sessions and providing occasional tours of camps. He also represents the University at transfer fairs.
"It gives me a good sense of pride to assist students and potential students with making a good choice and receiving a quality educational experience, similar to the one that I received here," the Greyhound Grad said about his work. "I like how much I can interact with a wide variety of people, build relationships with other educational institutions and promote our emphasis on student success."
His goal as a recruiter and transfer specialist is to "assist the department in raising the number of enrolled students (like they have been for the past few years) and maintain a high percentage level of student retention."
Andrew was drawn to the position based on his experiences as a President's Ambassador. "I knew what type of environment I was going into. I also had a good idea of what kind of work that was going to be expected of me," he explained. "I enjoyed my time as an Ambassador, and I knew I would like to be part of this team again."
In addition to being a President's Ambassador, Andrew was on the ENMU track and field team as a sprinter (100, 200 and 400) for the first two years of his undergraduate career before moving up to a middle distance runner (400 and 800) during his last two years of college. He was also a runner on the cross country team.
His favorite thing about Eastern is the "personal touch that you receive here. Unlike larger universities, you are not typically in a class with 300 other students, and you get to know your instructors and get to interact with them due to the smaller classroom setting."
The Greyhound Grad, who was employed as an accounting associate for La Casa ENMU Student Health Services in Portales before starting his role as a recruiter at Eastern, was born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico. His father is the department manager of Sporting Goods at the Clovis Walmart, and his mother is a billing coordinator at the High Plains Sleep Disorder Center. Andrew, the youngest of two brothers and one sister, has a dog named Roxie who stays with his parents in Clovis.
Andrew's parents are his role models. "They have honestly taught me so much about having the right values and setting the right priorities in life. They have always worked hard for what they have and passed the same work ethic on to me," he explained.
His hobbies include "anything athletic. I like to play a very wide variety of sports, but my overall favorite thing to do is play basketball. I also like being outdoors and doing things like hiking, camping and hunting."
He recently went on a cruise with friends and visited Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. "It was really cool to experience other cultures first hand and broaden my travel horizons," he shared.
