Silver City, NM- Samantha Munoz wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do when she came to Western New Mexico University in fall of 2012. She was an undeclared freshman with a strong interest in helping others, as well as a passion for softball. She originally intended to just play softball and go to school but now, four years later, Sam has found herself one of the busiest students on campus.
She just wrapped up her final season on the WNMU softball team, as well as a term as leader of the ASWNMU Student Senate. She has also served as member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), currently holds an internship at Hidalgo Medical Services and periodically volunteers at the Silver City Gospel Mission. Oh, and she also completed a Bachelors Degree in Social Work, and is graduating from college next week. Any other student would have crumbled under the pressure, but Sam has taken it all in stride, with a calm demeanor and good humor.
Born in Peoria, AZ (just outside of Phoenix), Sam had always had an interest in helping people. When she was younger, she spent many holidays with her family helping out at homeless shelters and giving to the needy, which instilled a desire in her to help others. While she began her college career undeclared, the universities social work program soon proved to be a good fit for her interests.
It was when she’d taken a government class with Dr. Magdaleno Manzanarez that Sam discovered that she also had a bit of knack for politics. During the 2014-2015 school year, ASWNMU was short on senators. Thanks to the encouragement of Dr. Manzanarez, Sam applied for, and was soon granted, a position the student senate by then President Gabby Begay and has served with distinction ever since, eventually working her way up to the position of Pro-temp in the Spring of 2016.
However, Sam isn’t looking for a career in politics. Instead, she hopes to take her degree in social work, her love for writing and her passion for helping others and turn it into a career as a medical social worker.
One can’t ignore Sam’s softball playing, however. Her interest began when she was a young girl and has been carried through from her varsity team at Centennial High School all the way to her career at Western, starting in 2013. She completed her final year on the team with seven hits, a .243 batting average, a home run as well as being one of eight players to be honored with All-RMAC Academic Achievements this past April. She is also a member of SAAC and helped out with this years Hoops for Hope event.
Her boyfriend, Mitch Glassman, recently graduated from Western after a RMAC record-breaking career on the football team and now Sam will follow suite this coming Friday. She plans on attending Graduate School elsewhere, preferably somewhere in Arizona so that she can be closer to home.
Samantha Munoz is leaving WNMU with a full resume of excellent achievements and serves as a shining example to both current and incoming students, showing that just because you aren’t sure what to do with yourself upon immediately entering college, you can soon find your calling and accomplish many great things pursuing it.
You can see Sam and the rest of the class of Spring 2016 graduate on Friday, May 13 at 3:00pm at the Ben Altamirano Field.
