Oral history interview with Juliana Chen conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on March 21, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Juliana Chen shares her upbringing in Hunan, China and her experiences as a teenager training to become a professional ballet dancer. She discusses her rigorous training and troupe career that ended when Chen sustained a knee injury. With a desire to try something new while still being able to perform, Chen immigrated to Vancouver, Canada and began practicing magic. Chen shares that although she didn't know anyone or speak English, she practiced her craft and broadened her knowledge by joining professional organizations including the International Brotherhood of Magicians. After winning several magic competitions, Chen performed on the Las Vegas Strip at Caesar's Palace and the Riviera Hotel and Casino. She shares her current professional pursuits, her connection to the Las Vegas magician community, and her thoughts on Chinese culture and cuisine.
Oral history interview with Marvelys Lopez Omaña conducted by Monserrath Hernandez and Barbara Tabach on February 21, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Marvelys Lopez discusses her childhood and growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, where her father owned a toy store. She attended an all-girls Catholic School and from a young age knew that she wanted to be a doctor. In 1993, at the age of seventeen, she was able to study abroad in the United States for one year and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. She returned to Venezuela to attend medical school and while attending medical school she met her husband, who was studying to be a registered nurse at the time. Lopez Omaña recalls volunteering as a firefighter in Venezuela, and discusses the political change that happened in Venezuela during her last years in medical school. She moved to back Las Vegas with her husband in 2003 and began working as a caregiver. She recounts Her first son's birth story, and describes how she became a Certified Professional Midwife.
Yearbook main highlights: schools and departments; detailed lists with names and headshots of faculty, administration and students; variety of photos from activities, festivals, campus life, and buildings; campus organizations such as sororities, fraternities and councils; beauty contest winners; college sports and featured athletes; and printed advertisements of local businesses; Institution name: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Oral history interview with David Becker conducted by Claytee D. White and Barbara Tabach on May 15, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Becker recalls being on a three-day assignment at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival across from the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thinking the gunfire was produced by malfunctioning equipment, he took photos of the scattering crowd. Moments later, in a now silent venue, he realized he captured a horrific massacre. Becker recalls photographing people leaving the venue as they performed acts of heroism, helping the fallen or the slow to reach safety. He discusses how difficult it is to comprehend the acts of that night, and how his photojournalist instincts allowed him to capture such devastating images.
Oral history interview with Joy Rineer conducted by Claytee D. White on December 07, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Rineer discusses her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada. She describes her career as an architect, designing the Resilience Center for those affected by the 1 October shooting, and the city’s response to the shooting. Later, Rineer describes helping the grief-stricken city through architecture, establishing the Leadership Las Vegas program, and organizing blood drives. Lastly, Rineer discusses the changes in Las Vegas after the tragedy.
Oral history interview with Lisa Song Sutton conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Vanessa Concepcion, and Stefani Evans on November 19, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Lisa shares her personal history and childhood memories moving from Seoul, South Korea to Sierra Vista, Arizona at the age of five. She discusses her educational and professional pursuits in business litigation, bankruptcy law, entrepreneurship, modeling, and her time in the pageant circuit winning Miss Vegas and Miss Nevada in 2013. Lisa also talks about her activism and community engagement efforts to empower women within Las Vegas. She concludes her interview with insight into her Korean heritage, traditional celebrations, and religion.
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.