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.
Oral history interview with Fernando Romero conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez on October 2, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Barbara Tabach also participates in the questioning. Fernando Romero was born in El Paso, Texas in a musical home. His father and brother were avid music players, and his brother left El Paso to play in orchestra in Las Vegas. Despite not being as passionate about music as the rest of his family, music was Romero's ticket to higher education. Romero attended University of Nevada South before it was renamed University of Nevada Las Vegas. Romero has gone on to be deeply involved in the Las Vegas community. He is the current president of Hispanics in Politics. Subjects discussed in this interview include: Hispanics in Politics, Nevada Association of Latin Americans, and education.
In this interview, Molasky discusses her parents, Irwin and Susan Molasky, and growing up in Las Vegas as a member of Temple Beth Sholom. She attended Sunday school and Hebrew school, but is not particularly religious as an adult.
Beth Molasky-Cornell is a partner, shareholder, and an active member of the board of directors of the Molasky Group of Companies, which was founded by her father Irwin Molasky. She is a founding partner and a core member of the board of directors of Ocean Pacific Companies, a high-end real estate development firm founded by her husband Ken Cornell in San Diego, California. Molasky-Cornell contributed to numerous Molasky Group building projects, including the Bank of America Plazas, the Winterwood Corporation land development, and the Park Towers luxury condominiums. Molasky was born in Florida; however, her family moved to Las Vegas before her second birthday. She graduated from Valley High School in 1968, and started college at the University of Southern California at the age of seventeen. After spending a couple of years in Rhode Island, where she had her children, she moved back to Las Vegas in 1975. In this interview, Molasky discusses her childhood experiences in Las Vegas, especially as a member of the Jewish community, and reflects upon changes that influenced her children?s upbringing in the city.
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.
Oral history interview with Andre "Brother Dre" King conducted by Claytee D. White on July 20, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, King recalls learning judo and wrestling at an early age. After spending ten years in prison for a burglary offense, he served an additional eleven years in facilities across the state. After twenty-one years in the system, King is now a nondenominational spiritual being and once he learned about the Healing Garden for 1 October victims, he went there daily, during and immediately after the construction. King has helped many survivors and has healed himself as well, through giving love, hugs, and spiritual inspiration.
Oral history interview with Zoe Albright conducted by Barbara Tabach on October 16, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Albright describes her work as a volunteer for the Red Cross and helping comfort those who came into the Metro Police Station after the 1 October shooting, searching for family and friends who were present at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. In addition to being a Red Cross volunteer, Albright is also a personal trainer, nutrition consultant and resident of Las Vegas since 1988.