SILVER CITY, NM—Combining the fields of Psychology, Kinesiology, and Educational Leadership into a degree plan might not seem an obvious choice for most students approaching graduate school, but for recent WNMU graduate and high school social studies teacher Macario Borrego, the three disciplines were a natural fit.

In addition to being a teacher, Borrego coaches the girls wrestling program at V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, NM. He decided to study for a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in order to enhance all dimensions of his professional life.

“I know for my teaching career I needed a master’s degree to advance my licensure,” he explained. “The Psychology and Kinesiology parts of my degree—I use that to help me with my coaching.”

Borrego graduated from WNMU in May.

Borrego’s path to both teaching and coaching began when he was a student himself. “I went to college [in Colorado] and wrestled for a couple of years,” he explained, “but then I got hurt and ended up pulling the plug on competing and came back to New Mexico. I started coaching at my old high school and just kind of fell in love with working with kids, so I started back at school to get my associate degree.”

Borrego went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Education with an endorsement in Social Studies from WNMU in 2021.

One of the highlights of his master’s program was his internship in Educational Leadership. “I got to spend quite a bit of time with the athletics director there,” he said, “and I got administrative hours with principals and got to see how they handled disciplinary issues. I got a lot of hands-on experience.”

Borrego also pointed to his Educational Leadership coursework with Assistant Professor Robert Neu as a highlight. “I have really enjoyed the classes and feel like I have grown,” he said.

Borrego noted that he has also learned a lot from the Kinesiology and Psychology courses he has taken. “On the Kinesiology and Psychology side of things, that is mainly so I can understand more about the body and training and recovery from injury,” he said. “I also started looking into mindset coaching, so that is how the Psychology side of things came in.”

The combination of subjects in his Interdisciplinary Study program seems to be paying off. After serving as an assistant wrestling coach for nine years, Borrego became the primary girls coach when the sport was first established at Cleveland High School.

“We got recognized as a team last year by the district, so we became our own sport, and I got hired on as the head coach,” he said. “We ended up winning State in our first year. And this year we have a good team. We had a good transfer come in, and we had some good underclassmen come up, and we were nationally ranked this year. We ended up winning State again.” His team is the first girls team from New Mexico ever to be nationally ranked.

In the past couple of years, the Cleveland High girls wrestling team has grown from six members to 34, said Borrego. “Girls wrestling is the fastest growing high school sport in the country right now, so we are seeing a lot more participation across the state.”

In addition to his successes with the girls wrestling team, Borrego has also seen some personal accomplishments in his time as coach. In 2023, he was named the Southern Plains Region Freestyle Development Coach of the year and was one of six finalists for the national award.

In 2024, he was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association NM Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Borrego’s successes come as no surprise to one of his professors, Professor of Psychology Jennifer Coleman. “I think it is neat how he represents many of our students,” she said, “— those already making huge impacts on their communities and the young people who will eventually attend universities like WNMU. We are lucky to be a part of Mac’s story.”

Borrego said he felt lucky to have found WNMU. “I have enjoyed my master’s program,” he said.

“I am glad that WNMU offers [Interdisciplinary Studies]. It has been good for me. … It has been a lot of work, but it has been good.”