Oral history interview with Elaine Newton conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Kristel Peralta, and Vanessa Concepcion on May 19, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Elaine Newton shares her family's history living in Hawaii and Japan, and memories from her childhood growing up with her six siblings in Honolulu. She talks about becoming a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways and how she met her former husband, Wayne Newton, after a stop in Vietnam. Elaine recalls their courtship and marriage as well as what Las Vegas life, fashion, and entertainment were like during the 1980s. She also speaks about racial discrimination and anti-asian violence in the past and present.
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Oral history interview with Francis Oh Allen-Palenske conducted by Stefani Evans on June 30, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Francis describes her childhood growing up in Lousiana with a white father and Korean mother. She recalls the family relocating to Reno, Nevada in 1983 where Francis obtained her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She describes serving as a staffer in Washington, D.C. for Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV) before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her Korean mother, maternal grandmother, and maternal aunts as strong, smart, business-minded women. Throughout the interview, she discusses Korean traditions, celebrations, clothing, and foods, as well as Korean cosmetics and views about skin color.
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Oral history interview with Luceanne "Lucy" Taufa conducted by Jerwin Tiu, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on December 16, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Taufa describes growing up on the Tongan island of Vava'u in a large family and later immigrating to the United States. She recalls her father first immigrating to Hawaii, and after obtaining a green card, her and her siblings following shortly after. While Kaufa's older siblings continued to pursue higher education and her younger siblings were too young to work, she took on a bulk of the responsibility to provide income and navigate life in Hawaii for her family. Eventually, Lucy moved to Dallas, Texas, met her husband, and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for her husband's job. Later in the interview, she discusses joining the Culinary Union after experiencing racial discrimination at her workplace and her pride in her identity as a Tongan woman.
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Oral history interview with Astrid Silva conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach on April 22, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Astrid Silva was born in Gomez Palacio, Durango in 1988. She immigrated with her mother to the United States in 1992, where they were met by her father before flying to Los Angeles. She recounts her first impression of the United States and her families eventual move to Las Vegas, where she describes her time living in Las Vegas' west side and struggles she faced being an undocumented student living in Las Vegas. She describes her first meeting with Senator Harry Reid and the friendship that developed afterwards. She has spoken at the Democratic National Convention and has been vocal about her status as a Dreamer. She is currently the Executive Director for DREAM Big Nevada which was established in 2017 in order to provide aid to Nevada's immigrant families. She writes about her hopes for Dreamers and her continued work in expanding the ways that immigrant families can be helped in an always changing political climate. Subjects discussed include: DACA, Dreamers, Immigrant Rights, and Higher Education.
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Oral history interview with Chet Buchanan conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 28, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Chet Buchanan begins this interview with a discussion of his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999 after he was offered a job as a radio show host for 98.5 KLUC. He talks about the specifics of his job, including his career background as well as the Chet Buchanan Toy Drive. For this interview, he specifically goes into detail on his coverage of the Las Vegas October 2017 mass shooting and discusses being in San Diego, California at the time, yet still striving to reach people through his broadcast with the help of CBS San Diego. Throughout the interview, Buchanan examines his desire to make a difference in the community with his show and his interactions with the public.
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Oral history interview with Sandra Gray conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on December 13, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Gray discusses her family history, and describes how her parents are immigrants from Durango, Mexico and moved from East Los Angeles, California to East Las Vegas, Nevada in 1991. After getting her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) she started a behavioral health agency that provided rehabilitative mental health services to children primarily in the foster care system. She went on to earn a master's degree in mental health counseling, a master's in psychology, and a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. She is the founder of Empower LV, which strives for equitable access to sports and tutoring. Dr. Sandra Gray is also the owner and operator of Innovation Behavioral Health Solutions, LLC.
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Oral history interview with Olivia Meneses conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on September 18, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Olivia Meneses describes growing up in Mexico City and attending la Universidad Iberoamericana during the 1968 student movement that culminated in the Tlatelolco massacre. She discusses migrating to the United States in 1983 and moving to Las Vegas in 1985, where she began teaching Spanish to kindergarten students.
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Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).
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Oral history interview with José Eliqué conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 17, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, José Eliqué discusses his responsibilities as the Associate Vice President and Chief of Police for the Department of Police Services at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He talks about the Police Services Department and its mission to maintain a safe environment on campus. Eliqué discusses the night of the October 1, 2017 shooting and the procedures in place that helped the police officers and detectives support the survivors who made their way to the UNLV campus. He also provides details about using the Thomas & Mack Center as a place of refuge for survivors. In addition to his work in Las Vegas, which started when he moved to the city in 2000, Eliqué discusses his service in the US Navy and his career history in New York City and Chicago, Illinois.
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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.
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