GENTRY: And now Great Arts at Eastern, from the Portales campus of Eastern New Mexico University. I’m Jeff Gentry, Dean of the College of Fine Arts here on KENW, your Public Radio Network. Today my guest is Landry Sena, a graduating communication major here at ENMU. Thank you for being on the show today.
SENA: Thank you for having me. I'm honored to be on the show.
GENTRY: And Landry, I am wearing my: “Have You Registered Yet” button for our students, but you don’t need to register.
SENA: No, it was interesting getting my notification saying like you need to register for classes because normally I’m in a panic trying to get there on time. But yeah, I don’t have to worry about it this time.
GENTRY: So, you joined Eastern full-time in the fall of 2018 after some previous college experience. What’s different about you today as you approach graduation?
SENA: A lot has changed. In high school, I was very centered around athletics, and I played four different sports. And I always had a niche for news. I don't know what it was about it, but my mom and I would always just watch it, morning and night, honestly. And one day, I was just looking, you know, at the anchors and watching what they were doing and the reporters, and I was just like, huh, I mean someone has to do that, don't they. And I was like, why not me. So that’s kind of where I decided what I was going to do. And a lot of times, people decide their major early on and then change it. But for me, that was never the case. I got into news, and I really just found a passion when I started reporting. And yeah, it's definitely where I feel like I belong. So-.
GENTRY: Great, so you and I are both lifers in Communication, we declared early. So to call you studious is an understatement. What excites you about graduating with a major in Communication emphasis in both Broadcast Journalism and Production and a minor in Business?
SENA: Yes, so I guess-. I once I found this passion of mine, I wanted to excel in every area. I-. it was definitely hard spending so much time at the station. And in being involved with the news and the other shows that I worked on. But like I said, the professors in the Communications Department are also really great. And I had a great advisor, Dr. Edward Caffrey. And so yeah, they just really had everything set out for me. And Dr. Dobson helped me a ton. So, I’m very thankful for the department and just helping me get to where I am now. And then my bosses at KENW really helped me thrive within the work field.
GENTRY: Right, News 3 New Mexico
SENA: Yes.
GENTRY: And- and a lot of work in broadcasting. You are graduating with honors, having made the Dean's list every semester. What's your message to underclassmen to help them succeed all the way through to graduation.
SENA: That’s a good question. I guess I would tell younger classmen- and I guess if I could tell my younger self: “just find as many opportunities as you can to get involved. And then always keep your schoolwork as the top priority because that's ultimately what you're here for.” Now that I'm about to graduate, it's like you know you see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's just everything that you've worked hard for. So I hope that after this you know you reach the ultimate goal and get a really good career. So yeah, just keeping those goals in place and leaping towards each one and then setting new ones after that.
GENTRY: Fantastic! Fall Commencement is on December 11th at 10:00 AM. Will family members come to greyhound arena to watch you walk across the stage?
SENA: Yeah, actually, it's a funny story. So I for something that I'm participating in. I had to get tickets reserved. And I had a call today and reserve my tickets, and I'm actually reserving like 20 tickets because I have three older siblings, all of them are married and have kids, and then I have my husband and his family. I do have a pretty decent size of a family.
GENTRY: That's wonderful. Thank you, Landry Sena, for joining me today. ENMU’s Fall Commencement takes place a week from Saturday. That's December 11th at 10:00 o’clock AM at Greyhound arena, or you can watch on KENW Channel 3–3. And you can catch the live stream at KENW.org, and it will be archived. So many ways to check out commencement. Our listeners can find all the Great Arts at Eastern at enmu.edu/FineArtsEvents. Landry, thanks so much for being with us today.
SENA: Thank you again, Dr. Gentry; I appreciate it.
GENTRY: And thanks to our listeners. you are listening to KENW, your Public Radio Network