2025 Inspiring Graduate | Edain Larios

Edain Larios has been building a new life for herself from the ground up. Though attending the University of New Mexico was a no-brainer for her, when she came to Albuquerque, she was overwhelmed.

Her family lives in Lovington, and her older sister attended the university before she did. "I came from a really, really small town where everybody stayed there and went to work the oil field," Larios said.

When Larios got to UNM, she wanted to only focus on her classes and didn't make an effort to meet many people. She felt like she was burning herself out without a balance of fun and schoolwork.

She attributes getting a job at El Centro de la Raza as the reason she was able to get out of her shell. "Everyone there helped me develop professionally and helped me gain confidence," Larios said.

Her mentors at El Centro encouraged her to push herself out of her comfort zone and meet new people. She would organize study break games and activities for students, and discovered she had a knack for leading and continued putting herself in positions to grow that skill. Little did she know how important that experience would be to prepare her for her future job.

A "happy accident" is how Larios would describe how she fell into her degree program. "I wasn't quite sure what to do. I looked into civil engineering, but I knew I wanted to be more hands-on," Larios said. "I stumbled upon the construction management program and immediately fell in love with it. It was exactly what I wanted to be doing."

As a woman in a male-dominated field, she remains optimistic that those statistics are changing. Her graduating class is about eight, most of whom are male, but she already started her full-time job with a general contractor and says there are more women involved in her line of work.

"While I was trying to find an internship, I would go to the interview, and they would be surprised I was a girl. But that's fine by me, it got me through the door in one way or another," Larios said. "The company that I work for right now, they're super supportive of women in construction."

When she first made the switch from civil engineering to construction management, Larios said her parents were excited for her, yet apprehensive. Her father worked in laborious jobs for the majority of his career and wanted to make sure she was up for it. "I told him this is what I want to do. I'll have my pink hardhat and pink gloves and be good at my job," Larios said.

Larios has already landed a full-time job before even graduating, working at a local construction company as a project engineer. She attended a career fair held on campus and got an internship, where she eventually worked her way up. "UNM was the stepping stone to getting out and being able to pursue a dream I didn't know I had until I got here."

Looking back at where she started as a freshman, she says her proudest achievement was building connections and relationships with students and faculty members. When she thinks of UNM now as a senior, she thinks of it as her home.

"Don't be scared is my biggest thing to provide for students, especially Latinas. Be open to the idea of being uncomfortable. You don't always have to fit the mold. If you think you're qualified, you're more than qualified if you're willing to put in the work," Larios said.