by Desiree M. Cooper
Communication Services

“Some of my best memories at ENMU have been working with the people in Lea Hall." – Dr. Leslie Paternoster

Dr. Leslie Paternoster, nursing associate professor at ENMU since 2007, will retire on June 1. “I love the people of Eastern,” said the nursing students’ advisor. “The students are wonderful. I enjoyed helping them succeed and graduate in a timely manner. I encouraged them to apply for scholarships rather than taking out student loans.”

The director of the nursing program worked as a graduate coordinator, made curriculum changes, taught classes, and oversaw the registered nurse to bachelor’s and master’s programs.

“Some of my best memories at ENMU have been working with the people in Lea Hall,” she explained. “I also liked the pinning ceremonies, because the online students would come to campus.”

Dr. Paternoster received an associate degree from Clovis Community College, a bachelor’s in nursing from ENMU in 1994, a master’s in nursing education from West Texas A&M in 1997, and a Doctorate of Education from New Mexico State University in 2006.

“I was one of the first graduates of ENMU’s BSN program; there were eight in my class,” she said. “I was here when the program started and am the director now, so I’ve seen it all.”

The retiree previously worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and St. Joseph’s in Albuquerque, the intensive care unit/emergency room/home health sections of Roosevelt General Hospital, and Clovis Community College as a nursing professor for 13 years.

The nursing professor was born in Brawley, Calif., which, she mentioned, is the “agricultural hub of the U.S., since 50 percent of our produce comes from there.”

The El Dorado High School graduate moved to Albuquerque when she was three. She said she had “the best life ever with an ideal family: a mother, father, five siblings, and my maternal and paternal grandmothers all together in one house.”

Dr. Paternoster, who adopted the two original Eastern greyhounds, will take a month-long trip with her sister-in-law after she retires. The duo will be taking Highway 101 from Washington to Southern California.

“I can’t wait to see the redwoods and Hollywood,” said the traveler, who has been to 40 of the 50 states, plus China and South Korea.

During her 15-day trip to China, she visited Tiananmen Square and was told not to look the guards in the eye. She said South Korea was more like America.

“I never had the desire to go to Europe. I wanted to experience totally different cultures,” said Dr. Paternoster, who was intrigued by the lifestyles she saw in Hong Kong. “Young people would stay out late socializing, rent a bed, wake up to go to work, then go out again. Instead of spending their money on apartments, they spent it on fashion.

Before moving away from Portales, Dr. Paternoster is going to sell her house and wait for her son, Ben, to find a job with his new law degree. The ENMU graduate (who received a bachelor’s in history in 2009 with distinction) is graduating from the University of Montana.

Dr. Paternoster plans to move to Montana to live with him, his wife, and their eight-year-old daughter, Julianna. “I’m bringing my horse and am thinking about getting another one so Julianna and I can ride together,” she explained. “I want to take care of the family, since both parents work full-time, by cooking dinner and picking Julianna up from school.”

She is considering volunteering at Jeanette Rankin Peace Center, which has programs intended to create a non-violent world, and teaching online nursing classes.

Her hobbies include riding horses and reading. The retiree doesn’t watch television; she opts to work on her flower garden, instead.

“I want try out a vegetable garden. I don’t use chemicals on my yard, because I don’t want to hurt the creatures who live there,” she explained.

Dr. Paternoster’s priority is spending time with her family to help them realize that, “You get one life. You need to take chances.”