Miyamura students mark Homecoming with parade

Emergency medical services graduate Raquel Martinez returned to The University of New Mexico-Gallup to take a welding class to de-stress from work, but her new hobby led to an associate degree in welding and a massive metal sculpture.

What started as a sketch on the floor became a unique sculpture in the shape of a fantasy elk centaur with a real elk skull and antlers covered in epoxy and a body made of metal. Martinez learned how to weld the sculpture as she went along, becoming proficient in metal inert gas welding, cutting and bending metal, and using power tools.

“It feels really good to see it completed,” she said. “At first, I couldn’t weld anything in a straight line to...