Eastern New Mexico University - Roswell

July 25, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Donna Oracion, 624-7404 SPECIAL SERVICES STUDENTS CELEBRATE GRADUATION A large crowd of family and friends packed the Roswell Convention and Civic Center today for the ENMU-Roswell Special Services Occupational Training Program’s Twenty-Sixth Annual Graduation Ceremony. Seventy-six students received certificates in a variety of program areas, such as Food Service, Stocking and Merchandising, Auto Mechanics, Child Care Attendant, and Office Skills. This was the largest graduating class so far in the history of the program. Veterinary Technician Assistant graduate, Kara Yslas, spoke during the ceremony. After she graduated from high school in Colorado Springs, she said she was excited to hear about the program at ENMU-Roswell, where she would be given a chance to succeed in a career field. Yslas was also a leader on the basketball team and volunteered her time to be a peer mentor helping other students. She told her fellow graduates to never let someone tell them they can’t do something because of their disability, because that would be wrong. The Occupational Training Program provides training and appropriate services to students with disabilities so they can participate in the university community and obtain employment. In 2011-12, 97 students graduated from the program from New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, California, North Carolina, Missouri, and Kansas. The program has also attracted students internationally, with one student coming from Germany and one from France. ###