Naomi Yee
Luke Rankin is proud to called Portales, N.M., his home because he loves the small-town feel.
Rankin was born in Tacoma, Wash., and has since lived in El Paso, Texas, and Miami before moving to New Mexico.
Rankin is a junior majoring in Biology at Eastern New Mexico University. He is interested mostly in the protection and rehabilitation of mammals and birds.
Choosing to study at ENMU was an easy decision. Rankin chose to stay close to his family, and many of his good friends attend ENMU. Rankin also chose ENMU because of scholarship opportunities—he is attending school on a full scholarship.
Although Rankin’s family lives very close to campus, he chose to experience college to its fullest and live in Eddy Hall.
Rankin thinks all the Biology professors are very good and challenging. With a major in Biology, Rankin desires to do animal research or animal rehabilitation. With animal rehabilitation, he would nurture animals that cannot thrive on their own and then slowly release them back into their natural habitat.
Protecting animals that are unable to thrive due to various reasons is one of Rankin’s passions, and he is no stranger to working with animals. Rankin’s father currently runs the Baptist Children’s Home, which has a barn with a variety of animals. Rankin has worked in the barn caring for horses, sheep, and pigs.
Rankin plans to enroll in a master’s program after graduating in the spring of 2015. He currently is interested in Florida International University in Miami, and he wants to get a master’s degree in Zoology.
Rankin said one of his goals after getting a master’s degree is, “to help animals in need and that cannot thrive. Some are poached and hunted, and I want to help them get back into the wild.”
Rankin also said that he would like to document information about animals, and bring hunting and poaching to the attention of the people.