Elisa Tamayo, Economics
Drug-related violence had become an issue in Elisa Tamayo’s hometown of Chihuahua City, Mexico. To escape it, her parents encouraged her to enroll at UTEP.
The University accepted Tamayo under special circumstances because she was a GED student. She enrolled in fall 2010.
“I didn’t want this opportunity to be taken for granted, so that’s when I started getting involved,” Tamayo said.
As a freshman, she formed a solid foundation with the help of the Excel program in the Student Government Association (SGA). She became an active member in SGA, the Women’s Business Association, the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, and Delta Sigma Pi.
In fall 2012, she interned at the White House with the Council on Environmental Quality.
“It was very exciting just to walk in the White House every day,” Tamayo said.
She saw White House officials such as former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in action, and got to meet President Barack Obama and watch him come and go from the residence on the Marine One helicopter.
“Graduating in the Centennial Year means the world to me,” Tamayo said. “It’s so special to be here at this time. It’s so uplifting.”