Paulette R. Nelson's life in Las Vegas is a contrast of images. She recalls riding her horse across the wide-open desert, as well as embracing the technological changes that rapidly impacted the UNLV library. Paulette honed her life skills as farm girl growing up just south of Mandan, North Dakota. She attended North Dakota State University. A post-graduation summer as a volunteer in Kenya, sparked an interest in adventure and travel and she enlisted for four years in the U.S. Air Force. Rather than enter as an officer, she opted to be enlisted personnel so that she could receive technical training. In 1981, Paulette migrated to Las Vegas, where she had friends at Nellis Air Force Base. She worked at the Nevada Test Site for the next two years. Then, while looking for a new job so that she could pursue an engineering degree, she was offered a position in the UNLV library cataloging department. It was a career path change that she never regretted. She eventually became the Supervisor of the Architecture Studies Library; a position she held for nine years until her retirement Among the highlights of her career was being involved in the change to an electronic catalog system and being on the planning committee for Lied Library.

Dr. Steven Parker grew up and went to school in Connecticut. His parents were caterers and taught him a solid work ethic through example. His only sibling was finishing a post doctorate at Yale and had accepted a job at one of the Cal State schools when his life was tragically ended. Steven graduated from Assumption College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's in political science and got a scholarship to State University of New York at Albany. About hallway through his Master of Public Administration degree, the dean encouraged him to go on for his doctorate. He finished his PhD in 1971, and got a job at Western Illinois University which he started on September 15, 1971, the same day his son was born. Alter 8 years (and another child) in Illinois, Steve and his wife were ready to leave. He had attended a public administration conference in Baltimore in the spring of 1975, and was interviewed by Dina Titus and Tom Wright of UNLV. He had several other job offers, but UNLV looked like the best possibility, so he and his family moved to Las Vegas. Dr. Parker's title at UNLV was associate professor and department chair, although Dina Titus actually chaired the department his first semester here. He took over as chair in the spring of 1980. Steven started when Brock Dixon was interim chair, and has served under university presidents Leonard "Pat" Goodall, Bob Maxson, and Carol Harter. Today Dr. Parker teaches American Presidency and American government every semester, Natural Resource Policy and Political Corruption and Political Ethics once or twice a year, and occasionally teaches Urban Government. He also continues as the director of the University Forum Lecture Series, which was initiated by Tom Wright more than 23 years ago.

Carrie Townley Porter, a 6th generation Texan, was born in Central Texas near present-day Fort Hood. Her father, a highway patrolman, was called into the Army Reserve in 1940 and spent some years moving around the country. At one point, his wife and children stayed in Belton, Texas tor three years because her father was transferred to places they couldn't go. Carrie finished high school in Austin, Texas, and attended two years at University of Texas in Austin. She left college to get married, and she and her geologist husband lived in Kansas, Oklahoma City, and Albuquerque. He took a job with the Atomic Energy Commission that required frequent trips to the Nevada Test Site, so the suggestion was made that they just move to Las Vegas. At this point they had three children with no reliable child care so Carrie became a housewife for a while. The Townleys lived a full and active life in Las Vegas and she eventually got hired as a substitute teacher. Carrie mostly subbed at Gibson Junior High School. She decided to finish her degree at Nevada Southern University (now UNLV) after her principal told her that if she could do that, he would have a job waiting for her. Several of the courses that Carrie took were Nevada history correspondence courses from UNR. These courses were prepared and graded by Dr. Russell Elliott. Carrie also fondly remembers two Nevada Southern history professors in particular, Dr. John Wright, whom she considered a mentor, and Rosemary Masick, who taught English history. After receiving her bachelor's, Carrie returned to teaching math at Gibson Jr. High. She started an archaeology club on her own and she and Russ Elliott started the first Trailblazer Club (junior history) in the state. She got students involved in the history of the Native Americans in the area and took them on field trips which gave them a chance to participate in a dig. Carrie has worked in Special Collections in the UNLV library as an archivist, with Sierra Pacific Power Company as a records analyst, and at Caesar's Tahoe as records administrator. She has also been very deeply involved with the Nevada Women's History Project since 1994. This group was responsible for the Sarah Winnemucca Statue Project, which placed a statue of this Native American in Washington, D.C., and a copy of it in the capitol building in Carson City. Today Carrie is doing a collaborative book on Helen J. Stewart with Sally Zanjani. She has done extensive research on Helen Stewart's life, and to this day makes "living history" presentations dressed as Helen J. Stewart. In addition to her history commitments, Carrie still holds onto her records management consulting firm, which she started in 1985.

Dr. Cheryl Radeloff was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Beavercreek, Ohio, in the '60s. She graduated from Beavercreek High School and attended Bowling Green State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in popular culture with a minor in women's studies. Cheryl's early work history included retail, an externship with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and a stint as a docent. After that she volunteered for Planned Parenthood of Miami Valley in Dayton, doing information gathering. She was offered a job working as an HIV educator /counselor for the organization, and learned to assist with basic procedures and do blood draws. Ms. Radeloff received her master's degree in sociology from the University of Toledo in 1996, and heard about a research position at UNLV. She contacted Dr. Maralee Mayberry and Dr. Peg Rees of the UNLV sociology department and was hired as a graduate assistant through Promise (Projects for Interdisciplinary and Multi-cultural Study in Education). Cheryl got involved in GSA and served as both a representative and as president (1999-2001) of that organization. She sat on many committees in this capacity and also counseled graduate students and listened to their suggestions and complaints. At the same time she was doing research for her dissertation and teaching classes. Cheryl received her PhD in 2004. The American Sociological Association Job Employment Fair in 2005 provided a forum in which her knowledge and experience as a social and health policy expert could be sought out by prospective institutions.

Dr. Brad Rothermel gives a brief introduction to his childhood days in Monroe Center, Illinois. He was born into a family of educators, so it was natural that he completed a Bachelor's, and finally a doctorate. He attended Northern Illinois University in De Kalb for his undergraduate degree and the University of Illinois for his Master's and PhD. Dr. Rothermel's work history before arriving at UNLV in 1981 includes coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization and stints at Kansas State and West Virginia University as athletic director and business manager. He describes how he came to apply at UNLV and comments at length on the responsibilities of an athletic director. Brad goes into minute detail discussing the history of the athletic programs at UNLV. His memories of coaches, players, and memorable wins are as compelling as his descriptions of fundraising, an average day as athletic director, and outstanding figures in the UNLV sports scene. After retiring in 1990, Brad's association with UNLV sports did not end, but rather evolved into consulting, developing, and fundraising. He and his wife Suzanne continue to enjoy and appreciate their involvement with community, the university, and their children and grandchildren.

From a Montana childhood filled with memories of sub-zero winters to a whirlwind courtship and wedding to her husband of over three decades, Lee Scroggins brought an energy to all her administrative positions at UNLV. Lee and her family moved to Las Vegas in March 1980. Within a couple of months she was working at UNLV and except for a brief hiatus in the late 1980s she remained at the university until her retirement in 2009. She gives an account of her journey through the office staff levels she held. It began with a brief stint in the Education department (you couldn't rise a level until you had six months in one position); took her to the Business and Economics departments; the 1980s. After her hiatus from 1985 to 1988, she returned to UNLV to work in the Psychology department and eventually to the library. Her interview traverses the evolution of the administrative worker from a time without technologies that became the common tools. It was an era without many copy machines, no Xerox, or computers. In addition, Lee touches upon procedural changes that were inevitable as the university grew In retirement, Lee plans to "call her own shots" and enjoy life.

Pamela Sitton’s childhood stories follow her construction worker father’s journey from one job to the next. She learned to adjust to a family move at a moment notice, to play in the back of a pickup truck and lived in a series of trailer homes. Finally in 1963, they moved to Las Vegas, where her father worked at the Test Site. For Pam, it was a chance to finish her schooling in one town. She attended the original Las Vegas High School and then UNLV, where she earned a degree in English literature. She recalls the Vegas of the 1960s for her unique perspective—a time of war protests, working a series of part-time jobs from cocktail waitress to post office worker, and her path to marriage in 1973. A position at UNLV’s library had been a dream job that she finally achieved when hired in 1974 as a member of the circulation staff. She held various positions throughout the library and remembers the various library buildings as a student and a professional.