Oral history interview with Arsya Respati conducted by Madison Chang on December 4, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) student Arsya Respati shares his childhood and upbringing in Jakarta, Indonesia and educational background. He discusses his studies at the international BINUS SCHOOL Simprug in Jakarta and his immigration to the United States with his younger brother to pursue the culinary arts at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV. Arsya Respati talks about his relationship with his parents and their daily communication, his "aunty" who has helped him adjust to American culture and homesickness, his Muslim faith and traditions, and his employment. He also shares his views on Indonesian politics and cultural diversity, and the diversity of Las Vegas.
Oral history interview with Marc Franco Casibang conducted by Catherine Mariano on December 5, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. University of Nevada, Las Vegas nursing student Marc Franco Casibang shares stories of his childhood moving with his family from Cagayan province, Philippines to different locations around the world. After their international travels, the family immigrated to the United States and lived in South Dakota and Maryland before settling in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2014 when Marc was a high school sophomore. Marc Casibang discusses his experiences as an immigrant in America, learning English and adapting to the culture of the United States, and maintaining his Filipino identity. He shares his thoughts on Filipino stereotypes, the community he and his family have found in Las Vegas, his faith, and his educational pursuits to become a nurse.
Oral history interview with Su Kim conducted by Ashley Brooke Fuentes on November 21, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Su Kim discusses her family and life in Seoul, Korea. She talks about immigrating alone to the United States to study in Provo, Utah and later transferring to the College of Southern Nevada. Su Kim talks about her immigration experience, the culture shock of coming to America, and the discrimination and racism she has seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Su shares how she met her husband, details of her employment as an office manager, and her plans to pursue a degree in hospitality from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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.
Oral history interview with Cristina Alano conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on September 9, 2022 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Alano recalls a happy childhood in Pampanga, Philippines. After attending college for a banking and finance degree, she briefly worked at a bank before marrying her husband and immigrating to the United States. She would go on to move to Colorado where she lived for seven years, and finally moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003. Alano recalls her first jobs in Las Vegas, including Walmart, SEI Electronics, a cashier at the Riviera, and finally the airport where works as a supervisor at Hudson as well as an assistant manager at Brighton. She discusses what she has done at each job and how she ended up getting involved with the Culinary Union in 2016. Since joining the union, she has done everything from being a shop steward to canvassing, most recently flying down to Georgia to help campaign for Senator Warnock. Throughout the rest of the interview, she discusses everything from food, to festivals, and her family.
Oral history interview with Maila Aganon conducted by Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on June 10, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Maila Aganon discusses her childhood, family upbringing, and immigration to the United States from the Philippines when she was a college student. She shares how her parents moved to Las Vegas first and Maila followed a decade later, investing in real estate and eventually taking up permanent residence. Maila talks about her employment history with Allstate Insurance, Bank of America, AAA, Caesars Entertainment, and finally Aon as a Senior Vice President. She also shares her thoughts on the growth of Las Vegas and the growth of the Asian community and cultural influence within the city. Subjects discussed include: anti-Asian violence; Filipino grocery stores; Filipino foods; remote work.
Oral history interview with Reika Sun conducted by Kristel Peralta on June 21, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Reika Sun discusses her childhood in Shanghai, China during the "one-child policy" and her upbringing by nannies while her parents worked. She shares how her family immmigrated to Las Vegas in 2009 to reunite with Reika's aunt and how Reika moved to Kansas to attend an English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Kansas State University. Reika also talks about her restaurant employment history after returning to Las Vegas, her membership in the Culinary Workers Union, and Chinese traditions and superstitions she grew up learning.
Oral history interview with Lawrence Chiu Hill oral history interview conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Nessa Concepcion, and Stefani Evans on November 8, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Lawrence "Larry" Chiu Hill shares his experiences growing up in Taiwan and immigrating with his family to South America, then moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, and finally Las Vegas, Nevada. He discusses his education at University of Nevada, Las Vegas as a Political Science graduate and his career path moving from casino gaming into the practice of law. Lawrence manages his own firm, Lawrence C. Hill and Associates, and talks about his work, his family, and the community he has created in over two decades of living in Las Vegas.
Oral history interview with Ernest Oon conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 16, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Oon recalls his childhood in Singapore, where his father worked on the Health and Sports Council for the Singaporean Government and his mother worked as a television assistant producer. Growing up, Oon recalls being very active, participating in everything from soccer to Tae Kwon Do. In an effort to continue his education without being being interrupted by Singapore's civil service program, Oon applied to college in the United States and ended up attending California State University. Although he was on the medicine track in Singapore, he switched to finance. After a series of jobs within credit banking, he is now a chief credit officer for Bank of Nevada. Throughout the interview, Oon reflects on the changes in his life living in different places, the street food from Singapore, and his unique tennis game.
Oral history interview with Carl Esteban conducted by William Bailey on December 2, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Esteban recalls growing up in Salinas, California in a predominantly Asian community before relocating with family to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. As a first generation Filipino America, Esteban's mother sacrificed her life in the Philippines to become the sole person in her family to immigrate to America. Esteban received his degree in Special Education and is currently pursuing to a master's degree in the same field. Esteban is currently a special education educator at the Yvonne Atkinson-Gates Center in North Las Vegas. Throughout the interview, Esteban discusses a wide range of topics spanning from his family migration story, his early childhood, his Filipino identity, Asian stereotypes as the model minority, and how his mentors helped shape him into the person he is today.