The University of New Mexico-Gallup Art Student Collective members Ryanelle Velarde, left, Monica Yazzie and Amber Dennison check out a building model in George Pearl Hall, which houses the School of Architecture and Planning, at the UNM main campus in Albuquerque on April 4, 2025.
Art Student Collective tours UNM Albuquerque campus
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Gallup Lobos appreciate the small things while touring art, architecture, biology and business buildings
By Richard Reyes, Friday, May 2, 2025
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Members of the Art Student Collective from The University of New Mexico-Gallup toured UNM’s main campus in Albuquerque to get a glimpse of college life beyond the branch campus experience.
The Art Student Collective is a student club at UNM-Gallup. Club President Ryanelle Velarde, Vice President Monica Yazzie and Secretary Amber Dennison raised money in February to pay for their trip to Albuquerque with some financial assistance from the Mellon Foundation.
“I think my favorite part was actually seeing the place where I might be studying, the Anderson School of Management,” Velarde said. “I hoped that seeing the place in person would help me finalize my decision, and it did in a way. I still got a lot more thinking to do, but it was nice to see the campus again.”
Velarde is a Middle College High School student who is graduating in May with an associate degree in general studies. She is interested in studying business, marketing or art when she continues her higher education at a four-year institution. At the time of the trip, her top three options were UNM, Northern Arizona University, and Whitman College.
Because of Velarde’s interest in business, the Art Student Collective toured UNM's McKinnon Center for Management to get a peek inside the classrooms and study areas.
The University of New Mexico-Gallup Art Student Collective tours the McKinnon Center for Management at the UNM main campus in Albuquerque on April 4, 2025.
In one of the larger classrooms, art instructor and club advisor Kristi Wilson encouraged the students to sit in the chairs so they could better imagine themselves taking courses there.
Wilson shared a personal experience from when she was younger and considering joining the U.S. Army. Her friend was attending Texas A&M and wanted Wilson to go to college instead. Wilson's friend convinced her to sit in a poetry class with her.
“After that I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to go to college,’” Wilson said. “That’s why this is so important to just let you sit in that chair. I could see you sitting in that chair. I can see you thriving. I can see you doing whatever it is you’re going to do. I believe in y’all.”
A motivating environment
Yazzie is a full-time UNM-Gallup student who is graduating with an associate degree in liberal arts. She wants to study architecture and is considering UNM or Lubbock Christian University.
The group toured UNM’s George Pearl Hall, which houses the School of Architecture and Planning. Yazzie said it was motivating to see the environment where she’s actually interested in studying.
It was nice to see that everybody had their own space to do their own projects and being able to create whatever they want,” she said.
She also appreciated seeing the abundance of spaces around campus where students can sit quietly and study.
The students noted that it can sometimes be difficult to find a study space that is not already occupied at the Gallup campus.
The University of New Mexico-Gallup Art Student Collective members Amber Dennison, left, Monica Yazzie and Ryanelle Velarde tour George Pearl Hall, which houses the School of Architecture and Planning, at the UNM main campus in Albuquerque on April 4, 2025.
Wilson said she appreciated hearing the students’ feedback.
“You have no idea how helpful that is for me to know, so that I could be a voice of advocacy for more space for y’all to have,” she said.
‘Demystify the big campus’
Dennison is also a Middle College High student on track to graduate in May with her high school diploma. She has already decided her next move, which is to enroll at Fort Lewis College to pursue nursing.
Although UNM is not in her immediate future, Dennison appreciated seeing the area around the dorms as the group made their way to lunch at the dining hall, La Posada. The Mellon Foundation paid for the group’s lunch and assigned a couple of graduate students to lead their campus tour.
Dennison also noted the differences in resources between the Gallup branch campus and the larger Albuquerque campus. UNM-Gallup sits on about 80 acres with a student headcount of 1,582 whereas UNM’s main campus sits on nearly 800 acres with a student headcount of 21,722.
“The whole point of this is just to demystify the big campus,” Wilson said.
Art Student Collective President Ryanelle Velarde checks out the artwork on display at The University of New Mexico Museum of Art in Albuquerque on April 4, 2025.
The group also toured UNM’s Student Union Building, Department of Art, Art Museum, Department of Biology, and Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
They were also joined by a Gallup Lobo turned Albuquerque Lobo, Kayliegh Begay, who expects to graduate from UNM in Fall 2025 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Begay similarly toured the UNM main campus back in April 2023 and has come a long way since then.
“I remember Kayliegh from like two years ago when she was president of the Art Student Collective,” Velarde said. “I was still just a new member. So it was pretty cool to see where she’s at now. I have another friend like that. She went to art school in NYU, so seeing these two people who went to school for art and where they’re at now, it’s inspirational.”
Student Kayliegh Begay, center left, who graduated from The University of New Mexico-Gallup, connects with the Art Student Collective during a tour of the UNM main campus in Albuquerque on April 4, 2025.
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