Graduates of CNM: Laura Armijo

Laura Armijo was a dedicated mom who suddenly found herself not quite as busy when three of her kids grew up and moved out. She decided to fill her time by going back to school at CNM and studying for an accounting certificate. 

“I had been so involved and knew I needed to do something to keep busy. CNM thankfully came my way,” she says.

Laura chose accounting because she had done all the bookwork for a church where her husband was the pastor and she liked working with numbers.

“I just love finding that last penny and making sure it’s in the right place,” she says.

Unfortunately, right as Laura was picking up steam in school she was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors took out a nine-centimeter tumor and she had to take a term off to recover. Luckily she was able to beat the cancer and returned to school. Her scholarship carried over and she jumped right back in. 

“One of my first thoughts when I learned I was cancer free was ‘Yay! I can go back to school,’” she says. 

At CNM, Laura says she had an enormous amount of support. As a returning student who hadn’t been in college since the 1980s, she was nervous but all her instructors were friendly, helpful, and encouraged her to keep going. 

She often relied on CNM tutors for material she didn’t understand and found them to be welcoming, no matter how big or small her question.

“I would say ‘I know this question sounds dumb,’ but they never thought that and they were always excited to help,” she says. “I needed so much tutoring for Excel and they were right there with me the entire time.”

In class, Laura liked that her grade was spread across multiple assignments and didn’t just rest on a couple big tests. She took every single class online, but said that instructors always found a way to make her feel welcomed and included. 

As a result of her hard work she recently participated in CNM’s in-person graduation and walked across the stage to get her certificates in Bookkeeping and Payroll. At age 52, she’s excited to start a job in these fields and wants to also slowly complete her associate degree in Accounting.

“It felt really, really satisfying to complete my degree and I look forward to what comes next,” she says.