Oral history interview with Dr. Javier A. Rodríguez conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on December 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Dr. Javier Rodríguez, Biology Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, talks of his personal and educational history that led him to UNLV. He discusses his migration from Puerto Rico to California where he received his PhD from the University of California Berkley and became a biological museum curator for various animal specimens. He later moved to Las Vegas to teach at UNLV where he has now been for nearly two decades; Dr. Rodríguez shares how UNLV has changed since he first started working here, including the university's increased interest in faculty research to become a Top Tier institution. Subjects discussed include: Puerto Rico; University of California Berkley; University funding; Tier 1 research institutions.
Oral history interview with Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez and Barbara Tabach on June 16, 2021 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Laurents is a Las Vegas native, graduate of Clark High School, and son of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants. He is currently an English teacher at Rancho High School and was a former student worker on the Latinx Voices project.
Terry Miller-Newcomb was born at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her grandparents on both sides were Nevada residents, and her mother and father were born in Reno and McGill, respectively. Her younger sister Linda was born at Sunrise Hospital shortly after it opened. Terry vividly remembers the way Vegas was in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Las Vegas was very small in the '50s, and one of the town's boundaries was Tropicana Avenue. Beyond that was dirt road and desert. Terry and her sister and friends rode horses out in that area. Terry's father, Chub Drakulich, taught drafting and Phys Ed and coached the basketball team at Rancho High School from 1955 to 1958. Her mother, Theresa Drakulich, was hired at the new Ruby S. Thomas Elementary School to teach kindergarten. Terry attended kindergarten through second grades at Tom Williams, and from third grade on went to Ruby Thomas E.S. Her junior high school years were spent at Orr Middle School, and she attended Valley High School through graduation. "Chub" Drakulich was hired at Southern Nevada University (now UNLV) in 1958 to start the Phys Ed program there. Terry remembers Frazier Hall and the old gym where she played on the gymnastics equipment while her father conducted basketball practice. Her parents would host a party every Christmas as part of the basketball Holiday Classic program. Terry chose to attend UNR after she graduated high school in 1974. She was hired at R&R Advertising in the summer of '78 and worked at the Reno office for two years. She then transferred to the Las Vegas office to work as account executive. She oversaw all advertising for Democrat and Republican campaigns, including road signs, radio and TV spots, and billboards. Between 1984 and 1987 Terry made several major changes in her life. She started a master's program in a totally new area, worked as a church administrator for an income, and was remarried. She finished her master's in 1987 and opened a private practice in marriage and family therapy in 1988, which she continues with today. Her oldest daughter is currently enrolled at UNLV on the Millennium Scholarship.
American film star and the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for best actor, Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born in Milwaukee, Wisonsin on April 5, 1900 to Caroline Brown and John Edward Tracy. Tracy joined the United States Navy in 1918. Upon his discharge, he enrolled at Ripon Colle as a premed student. While attending Ripon, Tracy auditioned for and eared a part in a play, and quickly discovered his true calling, acting. He moved to New York, New York in 1922 in order to enroll at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.