Oral history interview with Cindy Baca conducted by Barbara Tabach on May 22, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Cindy Baca, born and raised in Las Vegas, talks about her family and occupation as a librarian at Escobedo Middle School. Cindy's twin daughters were present and injured during the Route 91 Festival and October 1 shooting. She describes their experiences and the Random Acts of Kindness project she piloted at her school after the incident.
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Oral history interview with Esther Langston conducted by Claytee D. White on February 22, 2005 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. In this interview, Langston provides an overview of her early life and career in social work. She describes how the women in her family are positive and empowering role models. Langston moves on to explain how she become a social worker over a period of many years. She states that a job experience that helped her gain the qualifications of a social worker was working as an office manager at the Nevada Test Site. She also mentions how she has had to work with conflicts such as racial inequalities.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Leah Chan Grinvald conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on January 22, 2024 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Grinvald discusses growing up with a large Chinese family on her father's side, and an Orthodox Jewish family on her mother's side. Grinvald talks about family, identity, traditions, and schooling. She discusses how she became interested in law, her legal career, and volunteer work with the affinity Bars in Nevada, the State Bar of Nevada Board of Bar Governors, and the Association of American Law Schools Deans Council Executive Committee. She also talks about meeting her Israeli husband, marrying him in Israel, and living there for a year.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Miguel Villarba conducted by David Islas on December 6, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Miguel Villarba shares his family's history growing up in Manila, Philippines and immigrating to the United States in 2016. He talks about first living in Chattanooga, Tennessee before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to be near family when Miguel was in high school. Miguel Villarba shares stories of his grandfather's farm in Pangasinan, Philippines, the differences in city and town life across Manila, Chattanooga, and Las Vegas, and his educational plans. He also talks about Filipino culture and traditions, and racial discrimination.
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Oral history interview with Kaku Makino and Julie Kano conducted by Kristel Peralta, Vanessa Concepcion, Ayrton Yamaguchi, and Stefani Evans on March 22, 2021 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Makino discusses his early life in Tokyo, Japan and becoming a chef. He recalls arriving to the United States in 1989, establishing the Todai (now Makino Sushi & Seafood Buffet) restaurant chain, and opening nineteen locations in California, Florida, and in Hawaii. Kano talks about her upbringing in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan and describes Japan during the Meiji era. She remembers arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2000 and the cultural change she experienced. Lastly, Makino and Kano discuss the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paul Velez conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 22, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Paul Velez, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus officer, discusses his experience at the Thomas & Mack Center during the night of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He shares his goal of creating a safe atmosphere for the survivors and providing them with all of their needs, including helping separated survivors find their loved ones and friends. Velez also describes his move to Las Vegas in 2008 and his time with the New York City police force, talking about his experience as a first responder at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks. He discusses the effect these attacks have had on general and campus security measures and on him as an individual.
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Oral history interviews with Amilcar “Ace” Daniels conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez and Monserrath Hernández on June 15, 2019 and June 22, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In the first interview, Daniels discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and shares his parents' emigration story from the Dominican Republic to the United States in the early 1980s. He talks about attending the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Later, Daniels speaks on his career in hospitality, his passion for live theater, and his advocacy for the performing arts in Las Vegas. He talks about being a minority person in the hospitality industry, the importance of maintaining his cultural identity, and Latino representation in theater. In the second interview, Daniels discusses his involvement with the non-profit arts organization Super Summer Theatre, and participating in the Las Vegas Pride Festival. Lastly, Daniels talks about issues of colorism in the Latinx community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with James Dean Leavitt conducted by Claytee D. White on September 27 and October 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Leavitt recalls his role in establishing a medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), now known as Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Leavitt was elected to the Board of Regents in 2004 while Jim Rogers was interim Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), and he suggested the creation of an ad hoc committee Health Science Center Committee. In 2009, Leavitt became Chairman of the Board of Regents, Dan Klaich became Chancellor, and in the following year, Dr. Mark Doubrava joined the board. In May 2014, the planning dean was hired, Dr. Barbara Atkinson, and the UNLV School of Medicine was officially established on August 22, 2014.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Perkins conducted by Janel Houldsworth on June 22, 2005 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Perkins reflects upon his career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). He describes the process by which he chose to pursue special education, and eventually became a teacher and administrator at several elementary and special education schools throughout the school district. He discusses issues such as student and staff diversity, and his interactions with Native American students through the development of Ute V. Perkins Elementary School in Moapa, Nevada. He also describes his approach to school administration, and his daily routine as a principal.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with James Dean Leavitt conducted by Claytee D. White on September 27 and October 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Leavitt recalls his role in establishing a medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), now known as Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Leavitt was elected to the Board of Regents in 2004 while Jim Rogers was interim Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), and he suggested the creation of an ad hoc committee Health Science Center Committee. In 2009, Leavitt became Chairman of the Board of Regents, Dan Klaich became Chancellor, and in the following year, Dr. Mark Doubrava joined the board. In May 2014, the planning dean was hired, Dr. Barbara Atkinson, and the UNLV School of Medicine was officially established on August 22, 2014.
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