The Maverick is dedicated to representing the New Mexico undergraduate student body through the online publication of in-class as well as extracurricular essays, research, art, and creative writing.
Editors
Click any of the team member's photos to show more details.
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Anais Orantez From the Pascua Yaqui Tribe reservation in Tucson, Arizona, Anais Orantez is an aspiring journalist and storyteller, majoring in English with focuses in communications and music at Western New Mexico University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing poetry, and performing as a violinist and vocalist with Mariachi Plata de WNMU, which, in her opinion, is the ultimate form of storytelling
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Laisha Vargas Garcia is a sophomore at Western New Mexico University. She was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is majoring in Business Management with a double minor in Music and Spanish. On campus, Laisha is not only a new member of The Maverick Journal team, but she is also a violinist and vocalist for Mariachi Plata de WNMU, a senator in Student Government, and an activities director in M.E.Ch.A. As a proud hispanic/ Mexican-American, Laisha is excited to bring her own flavor to the journal!
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Arielle Certosimo Arielle's life journey was by no means a direct to route to Western New Mexico University. She was born and raised in a small town on the Jersey Shore where she began her professional career as a makeup artist after graduating The Paul Mitchell School. After a decade of working in areas of film, entertainment, event and personal make-up artistry, while living on the Jersey Shore and Jersey City, Arielle found her next calling: motherhood. During this time period, her already burning passion for literature began to take hold. Moving to Silver City in 2022 further stoked her fire for more knowledge. Upon her son turning three years of age, she decided that attending our beautiful University on the hill would be a natural progression in her journey. Arielle began her studies in the Fall Semester of 2024 and is now an English Major focusing on Literature and Composition. She resides in downtown Silver City with her loving husband and son.
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Heather Frankland is Associate Professor of English Composition at Western New Mexico University. She holds an MFA and an MPH from New Mexico State University. She was a Peace Corps and Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Peru and Panama. Professor Frankland has been published in various literary journals, and her poetry chapbook, "Midwest Musings," was published by Finishing Line Press in Fall 2023. She is the current poet laureate of Silver City and Grant County. She loves words, music, dancing, travelling, and supporting students in their writing practices.
Faculty Mentor
Mimbres Press: A Note About Our Name
Mimbres Press is named after the Mimbres people, whose culture thrived between 825 and 1450 CE. The Mimbres people lived in the Mimbres Valley in southern New Mexico, although their territories extended to parts of Arizona in the West and the Rio Grande in the Southeast. The culture is now known particularly for its pottery, which was the inspiration for our logo designed by artist Paul Hotvedt.