How This Student Used CNM’s Fast-Track Programs to Build an Exciting New Career

It took Judith Baldwin less than two years to graduate and start moving toward a new job as a Project Manager
June 23, 2022

Before attending CNM Judith Baldwin had spent nearly 10 years in a job where she helped people make sense of their student loans. When it was time for her to advance her career, she decided CNM presented the best path forward.

“I was more than capable but I reached a point where my lack of degree got in the way,” she says.

She enrolled in CNM’s Fast-Track Business Administration program and decided to study business because that field built on her previous work experience and she liked the idea of graduating in under two years.

She didn’t immediately know what her career goals were but says figuring out her own strengths and interests was all part of the process.

“It wasn’t until the last semester that I realized what I really wanted to focus on was project management,” she says.

In the program Judith liked that many of her peers were also non-traditional students. This made it easier for everyone to develop a cohort.

“One of my favorite things about the Fast Track program was the kinship we had with each other,” Judith says. “Regardless of why we were there or what our goals were, we were all there to learn and to share ideas.”

Judith graduated with her associate degree in Business Administration last December and plans to transfer to UNM next spring to pursue her bachelor’s degree. In the meantime, she’s taking prerequisite classes at CNM. She’s also preparing to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam in order to become a certified project manager.

“It’s really the organizational aspects of business that I’m naturally drawn to and feel like I’m actually kind of good at,” Judith says. “I’m not really artistic in the traditional sense, but I like to think that I’m creative when it comes to finding solutions and problem-solving and making things better.”

Judith’s desire to grow as a person and as an employee is what she credits with motivating her to do her best every day. In the future, she hopes to put that instinct to work in a position that allows her to serve the public.

“I come from a long line of public servants, and I’d like to continue that in some way,” she says.