Meet Our New Faculty

Southeast New Mexico College, like many two-year public colleges, is a wonderful amalgam of old and new, youth and experience, local and global.  We introduce the students to the classics and traditional ways of knowing, as well as cutting-edge techniques and skills.

This fall we have six new full-time faculty who are adding their varied backgrounds to the wealth of knowledge at our college.  They, like our students, are a diverse group.  Half have deep roots in this area, while the other half come to us from afar.  Four teach in health care, a field where communication is essential.  The other two prepare our students to communicate in a myriad of ways, developing the skills needed to connect with a variety of audiences.

Kina Chavez and Arlene Nieto are proud alumni of our top-rated RN Nursing program.  Kina graduated in 2013.  In the decade since, Kina worked seven years in ER and graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Eastern New Mexico University.  She is a Carlsbad native and is excited about the opportunity to help prepare the next generation of Nursing students.

Arlene is an alumnus of Loving High School.  After graduating from our college in 2014, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas – Arlington.  She brings more than two decades of healthcare experience back to our campus, including work in medical surgical and home health care.

Charity Goldsby is our new Instructor of Surgical Technology.  Originally from Louisiana, Charity earned her degree there and then arrived in Carlsbad in 2019 after several years in Houston.  Her experience in all three states has prepared her to lead our program.  Beginning this fall, she is the primary instructor for our courses in Surgical Technology.

Dr. Sandra I. Florez “bleeds blue” as a Carlsbad High School alumnus who is entering the third decade of her career in healthcare.  She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Spanish from the University of New Mexico and continued her studies there, earning a Master of Occupational Therapy.  At Texas Tech University, she completed her Doctor of Occupational Therapy.  Dr. Florez’s first college class was a Psychology course at our college.  Now she returns as an Assistant Professor and Allied Health Department Chair, overseeing many of our healthcare preparatory offerings.

Kevin Daily , our new Assistant Professor of Communication, is originally from Michigan and earned his Master of Arts from Wayne State University.  He brings a variety of experiences to our college, having worked in sales for one of the largest publishers of trade books before teaching in Texas, Mexico, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  Professor Kevin, or “PKev” as he tells his students to call him, has also applied his communication skills as a sportscaster for live college events.

Our new Assistant Professor of Digital Media Technology, Alexis Clements , is originally from the Missouri River valley city of St. Joseph, Missouri.  She graduated from the Academy of Art in San Francisco with her Master of Fine Arts:  Studio Art, leading to a teaching career at colleges in Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa.  A photographer by trade, she leads our program in Digital Media and teaches Art classes as well.

At universities, many faculty teach only a handful of classes.  They focus on research and leave the teaching to graduate assistants.  That is not the case at SENMC.  The above faculty join more than two-dozen full-time faculty members at our college who have one focus:  our students.  That is why a two-year college like SENMC is the best—and first—choice for so many.

Kevin Beardmore may be reached at kbeardmore@senmc.edu or 575.234.9211.