Byron Underhill's father owned the first Coca-Cola bottling plant, the first beer distributorship, and the first bowling alley in Las Vegas. Byron moved here from Needles, Calif., with his family in 1927. Byron later took over the bottling plant, served in the Army as an aircraft mechanic and a glider pilot during World War II, was a private pilot who worked with Search and Rescue, played in various bands, and suggested to the Lions club that they found a burn unit at University Medical Center that is still the only one in the state

Rancho High School. Moved to Las Vegas in 1957 when she was thirteen. Ruth graduated from Rancho High School and worked with a variety of unions and casinos on their insurance claims

Nora Luna (1971 - ), the daughter of Mexican immigrants, recalls her growing up experience in the Las Vegas Valley. During her childhood, she and her siblings frequently persuaded their father to take them out to eat to the Circus Circus buffet. She enjoyed playing the carnival games at the Circus Circus. She attended Las Vegas High School. In 1994, she graduated from UNLV with a degree in criminal justice. Her education inspired her to work with the community’s youth. She tutored children at the Y.M.C.A. of Southern Nevada. Luna also worked for a program, Anahuac, which sought to deconstruct some of the myths that often prevent Latinos from attending college. In Reno, Nevada she worked with non-profit organizations to implement evidence-based practices for youth development. Luna has worked for Nathan Adelson Hospice as the Director of Diversity and Grant Funding since 2008. She seeks to find culturally competent care for Latinos and ensures that the hospice provides informational r

Interviewed by Elsa Lopez and Claytee White. Mauricia Baca, Director of Get Outdoors Nevada, was born to a Jewish American mother and Mexican father who settled in New York City. She overcame the economic obstacles of her early life to graduate from Vassar College and University of New York Law School, where she learned to be proud of her identity. Subjects: Jewish, Education, Law School, Latinx, Mexican

Dr. Fiona Kelley was born and raised in Connecticut. Her parents were both teachers (though her mother quit teaching to raise their two daughters), and Fiona recalls the European vacations the family took every summer, exploring castles and enjoying picnic lunches. Fiona was educated at Greenwich Academy in Connecticut and Bard College (dance major with art history minor) in New York. She mentions dancing in Acapulco and California and then auditioning and being hired as a cover dancer for Hallelujah Hollywood! at the MGM in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, she had also become licensed in massage and states that as she was making the transition from dancing to production of dance, she and her husband were invited to China. While in China, Dr. Kelley recalls visiting a hospital which specialized in the treatment of AIDS through acupuncture. This led to a decision to learn Oriental medicine, which she pursued once she returned to the United States. She shares many details of her studies

Interviewed by Elsa Lopez. Sam Diaz was born in Los Angeles California, but was raised in Chula Vista, California. He is a police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and has worked for LVMPD since 2007. He has served in in the U.S. Air Force Reserves since 2008, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 2001 to 2007. Diaz describes his multi-cultural upbringing and growing up in such close proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. He describes his passion for serving which he had since a young age. He describes his incorporation within every community he has been a part of and talks about the ways he has worked to serve the Las Vegas community since moving here in 2007. He recounts the tragic night of 1 October, the mass shooting that occurred during the Route 91 Harvest music festival on October 1st, 2017 on the Las Vegas Strip. He talks about the various changes that happened within LVMPD since 1 October, and changes that he has seen in the Latinx community throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Diaz also describes the process of adopting two children and raising a multi-racial family with his wife in Las Vegas.

In 1964, the year that Vincent Kethen was born, desegregation of Las Vegas schools began. Like many African-American children living in the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, Vincent was bused out of his neighborhood in third grade to attend a white school. In his case, this meant attending John S. Park Elementary and later other predominantly white schools. He talks about these experiences. John S. Park was a neighborhood of manicured lawns, while the school bus and the classroom were places fraught with fisticuffs. The experience of growing up during that era are recalled. Vincent provides a sense of that it was like to reside in his home neighborhood and the onslaught of the drug culture altered gang-lead neighborhoods. Being bused had positive results he explains, such as athletics, which served as an equalizer. For Vincent, a solid upbringing, which included love of church and the chance to attend college, encouraged him to make good decisions about his future. He received a four-year degree and he returned to Las Vegas to "give back." For over a decade and a half, her has coached young basketball players and helped them see their options for a brighter future than they might otherwise have seen.