Oral history interview with So Ping "Suzy" Chan conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 20, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Wai-Mei Borgel served as an interpreter. In this interview, Chan describes her early life in Toisan, China, where her father owned a jewelry store but soon joined her grandfather in the United States. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chan recalls one of her brothers dying, and after the war their family left for Hong Kong, where Chan would grow up and finish her education. In 1963, Chan immigrated first to San Francisco, California, before moving down to Los Angeles, California, and working in a kitchen at a restaurant named Food to Go. After working various jobs in Los Angeles, Chan and her family eventually relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she would continue to work various culinary jobs and as a Pai Gow dealer. Chan discusses venturing into real estate and tells stories throughout the interview that reflect the hard-earned but fun-spirited life she has led.
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Oral history interview with Christian Giovanni conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 17, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Giovanni describes her early life being born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her mother, Oywan, who first worked for the casinos before turning her focus to community building. Throughout Oywan's life, she did everything from start the first temple in the city to the first Thai newspaper, Las Vegas News. Giovanni mentions having what she considers a normal childhood, especially because of her more Western appearance, and did not embrace her AAPI identity until much later in life after she started helping her mother with different organizations. Currently, Giovanni is involved in many organizations, from the AAPI County Commission to the Thai Culture Foundation.
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Oral history with Nympha Comacchio conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on May 09, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Comacchio recalls her childhood in the Philippines and growing up in a large family. After attending elementary school, Comacchio immediately went to work on her father's lumber farm, performing manual labor until she was seventeen. Later, she recalls finding employment as a seamstress in Manila, where she met her first husband when she left to work in Saudi Arabia for better pay. Comacchio describes how she was able to receive a student visa to finally immigrate to the United States, where she first arrived in California. Eventually, after meeting her second husband and hearing about housing prices in Las Vegas, Nevada, they purchased a house in the city in 2000. After briefly working for the New Frontier, Comacchio began working for the Wynn and Encore, where she found out about the Culinary Workers Union and became more active in that organization. Throughout the rest of the interview, Comacchio touches on the responsibilities of being a housekeeper, the current challenges they face, and how she feels about the growing AAPI population in southern Nevada.
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Oral history interview with Elena Newman conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on April 11, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Newman discusses her childhood in Dagupan, Pangasinan, Philippines. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Singapore for better work opportunities to help support her family. After meeting her husband, the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Since moving to Las Vegas, Newman has spent her time working as both a guest room attendant and shop steward at Mandalay Bay. She is also a part of the Culinary Workers Union, and she discusses how helpful the union is to the livelihoods of the many workers in the casino industry.
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Oral history interview with Christian Chan conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 06, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Chan begins by describing her childhood in Hong Kong and later moving to San Francisco, California with her family, then to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1965. She recalls attending Sunrise Acres and Roy Martin Middle School before graduating from Valley High School as valedictorian. In college, Chan attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and graduated with a degree in engineering. After college, she found work in the Las Vegas Valley Water District and became the first woman engineer. During her five years there, she excountered subtle sexism for the first time. Chan continues the interview by describing her work while she lived in California, as well as her years internationally living in the Philippines as well as Ecuador. Throughout the interview, Chan touches on topics ranging from identity, to her impressions of the different generations, discrimination, and the growth of Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with Dr. Phyllis Kay "P. Kay" Carl conducted by Jamie Bailey on November 23, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Carl reflects upon her 30-year career with the Clark County School District as counselor, principal, and assistant superintendent from 1970 to 2000. She describes the process by which she went from being a counselor to eventually assistant superintendent, and discusses job responsibilities and challenges that she regularly faced. She also discusses challenges of diversity and integration, and offers suggestions for how to be a successful school administrator.
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Oral history interview with Dr. Sylvia J. Springer conducted by Sharon Beatty and Bernard Chamberlain on July 23, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Springer reflects upon her 20 years as an administrator in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1980s to the time of the interview. She compares working with CCSD to working in Colorado, and describes the different priorities in each school district. She describes her personal approach to school administration, her regular responsibilities, and challenges that she faced as principal. She also comments on different management styles, and provides her opinion on management issues within CCSD.
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Oral history interview with Alma Vining conducted by Christine Carrera on April 10, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Vining reflects upon her 30-year career as an elementary school teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1970s to the 2000s. She describes the process by which she became an administrator, her regular responsibilities, and challenges that she faced. She also discusses school district programs such as No Child Left Behind, bilingual education, and school integration.
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Oral history interview with Nancie B. Watson conducted by Matthew Courtad on November 30, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Watson reflects upon her roughly 30-year career as a teacher and administrator in Nevada and Utah. She discusses her experiences as a teacher, and describes how certain challenges influenced her decision to pursue school administration and influenced her management approach. She discusses the importance of mentorship programs, as well as working relationships between teachers and administrators.
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Oral history interview with Vee Wilson conducted by Connie Malin on April 12, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Wilson reflects upon his 30-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1960s to the 1990s. He discusses his approach to school administration, and the importance of working relationships with students, staff, and parents.
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