Oral history interview with Aldeane Ries conducted by Jennifer Meskimen on April 21, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Ries reflects upon her nearly 40-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District. She discusses the process by which she became an administrator, her approach to school administration, and her regular job responsibilities as principal. She describes changes within the school district over her 40-year career, cultural diversity among students and staff, and the importance of maintaining relationships with parents and students. She also offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Pamela Salazar conducted by Mark Cheney on November 13, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Salazar reflects upon her nearly 30-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District from the 1970s to the 2000s. She describes her approach to school administration, regular job responsibilities and challenges as principal, and ways that she managed job stressors. She also offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration, and describes elements of her training that she believes were most useful.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Anthony Saville conducted by Dr. Robert Ackerman and Dr. Patrick Carlton on June 17, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Saville reflects upon his career in school administration. He describes the process by which he became an administrator, challenges that he faced before he became a United States citizen, and his eventual involvement with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He discusses his experience working as the Dean of Education with UNLV and his development of the Education program.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with JoAnne K. Schlekewy conducted by Wanda Renfrow on November 26, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Schlekewy reflects upon her nearly 30-year career as an administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District from the 1970s to the 2000s. She describes the process by which she became a counselor and eventually principal, describes her regular responsibilities, and discusses the importance of establishing working relationships with teachers.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Edward Scott conducted by Sallie Van Buren on March 12, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Scott reflects upon his career as a teacher and administrator in Chicago, Illinois from the 1950s to the 1990s. He discusses his regular job responsibilities and challenges, describes his experiences with school integration, and compares working in Chicago to working with Nevada’s Clark County School District.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Victor Wei conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 23, 2022 and June 06, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In the first interview, Wei recalls his early childhood, moving around China, and being part of a large family. Wei's life took a sudden turn when he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and then to California where he had a difficult time navigating life as a Chinese individual. Wei and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he continued his business consulting work and partnered with UNLV President Marta Meana on the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. In the second interview, Wei discusses the importance of one's own narrative, and talks about how he perceives his race, community help, and the greater world. Wei also touches on how discrimination existed before the COVID-19 pandemic and how there must be a balance between retaining one's heritage and assimilation. Lastly, Wei discusses his spirituality, war, and human nature.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Julian Eusebio conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on June 01, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Eusebio discusses his childhood in the Philippines countryside, helping his parents farm and harvest rice. After moving to Manila for college, Eusebio studied architecture and illustrated for comics and magazines. After moving to Los Angeles, California, Eusebio started a construction business, doing landscapes and constructing swimming pools for celebrities such as Michael Jackson. In 1992, he opened another branch in Las Vegas, Nevada. After retiring in 2010, Eusebio took up painting again and cites his favorite artists as Norman Rockwell and Rembrandt. In the remainder of the interview, he discusses his drawing process and how he started showing his artwork throughout the Las Vegas Clark County Library District.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with So Ping "Suzy" Chan conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 20, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Wai-Mei Borgel served as an interpreter. In this interview, Chan describes her early life in Toisan, China, where her father owned a jewelry store but soon joined her grandfather in the United States. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chan recalls one of her brothers dying, and after the war their family left for Hong Kong, where Chan would grow up and finish her education. In 1963, Chan immigrated first to San Francisco, California, before moving down to Los Angeles, California, and working in a kitchen at a restaurant named Food to Go. After working various jobs in Los Angeles, Chan and her family eventually relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she would continue to work various culinary jobs and as a Pai Gow dealer. Chan discusses venturing into real estate and tells stories throughout the interview that reflect the hard-earned but fun-spirited life she has led.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christian Giovanni conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 17, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Giovanni describes her early life being born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her mother, Oywan, who first worked for the casinos before turning her focus to community building. Throughout Oywan's life, she did everything from start the first temple in the city to the first Thai newspaper, Las Vegas News. Giovanni mentions having what she considers a normal childhood, especially because of her more Western appearance, and did not embrace her AAPI identity until much later in life after she started helping her mother with different organizations. Currently, Giovanni is involved in many organizations, from the AAPI County Commission to the Thai Culture Foundation.
Archival Collection
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.
Archival Collection