The Roybal family does not know what it means to be lazy. From the time the children – Emily, Reina, Nathaniel, Ann, Antonia, Adam, Mary Catherine, Matias and Mabelle – were young, they have been working hard on the family ranch in Mora, N.M., raising cattle and chickens, and working hard on getting an education.

Now, all nine of the Roybal children have either earned, or are working to earn, at least one college degree, and they all chose New Mexico State University as the place to start their individual journeys.

“New Mexico State was a very important first step for me,” says Nathaniel Roybal ’00, who graduated with a bachelor’s in animal science. “It was the beginning of an academic journey that I am on the tail end of.”

Nathaniel is working on his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles Jules Stein Eye Institute in Ophthalmology, conducting stem cell and gene therapy research for blinding diseases.

Nathaniel says he felt at home and welcomed at NMSU, especially among the students, faculty and staff in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, where he pursued animal science, until he felt his life goals were changing.

Even after discovering his journey was going to lead him to a medical career helping people, Nathaniel says he continued to receive support and encouragement from the department, with faculty who tailored a class schedule and research program to ensure he was pointed in the right direction.

It turned out to be an easy task to convince the other Roybals to follow Nathaniel, since NMSU offered all the remaining eight siblings scholarships and programs to meet their diverse career interests while staying close to home.

Emily Roybal Russell ’01, who graduated with a bachelor’s in nursing, says her parents always reinforced the idea that it was not a matter of “if” they went to college, but “when.”

Emily transferred from the University of New Mexico to join Nathaniel at NMSU, and was immediately welcomed into the nursing program. When she chose to pursue a master’s degree at a Texas university, Emily found herself in a program with other students from top schools.

“I found that my training in the nursing program at NMSU was more comprehensive and overall far better than nursing programs at other schools,” she says. “There is no doubt in my mind that someone choosing a nursing program needs to go to New Mexico State.”

Emily is now the administrative and clinical director of a nursing program in Albuquerque.

Later, Ann Roybal Sutherlin ’02 ’04 earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in human nutrition from NMSU.

Antonia Roybal-Mack ’03 was one of NMSU’s first student regents. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management and later went on to earn a law degree.

Adam Roybal ’06 graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering.

Reina Roybal Pacheco ’07 earned a master’s in teaching, with an emphasis in math and science from NMSU.

Mary Catherine Roybal Sandoval ’09 earned a bachelor’s in music education with an emphasis in voice.

Matias Roybal is set to graduate in 2012 with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.

Mabelle Roybal started attending classes in 2010 and is studying agricultural education.

Through the years, the Roybals have lived frugally, even renting homes together, to cut costs.

The siblings’ mom, Anita Roybal, said she and her husband, Eloy, always trusted that even with raising nine children on teachers’ salaries, if their children worked hard, learned to read and had faith in God, they would achieve their dreams.

“It is interesting because I can want what I want for them,” says Anita, “but they are the ones who have picked up the ball and run with it. They are the ones who have realized that a good education means a good income.”