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.
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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.
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From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Personal and professional papers file.
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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.
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Oral history interview with Kevin Chung conducted by Cecelia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on December 18, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Kevin Chung discusses his upbringing in Southern Vietnam and how he and his family were forced to leave the country during the Vietnam War. Chung talks about his family's migration to Minnesota and how they adapted to American culture. He shares his educational background, his professional pursuits as a teacher, and the reasons he and his wife decided to move to Las Vegas. Chung reflects on the importance of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) in education with an emphasis on the arts and shares his teaching philosophy. He also gives details of his family's lives and talks about the importance of bringing together his Vietnamese and American cultures to connect the different generations of his family.
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Oral history interview with Hernando Amaya conducted by Laurents Banuelos-Benitez, Marcela Rodriguez-Campo, and Barbara Tabach on October 18, 2018 and December 3, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Hernando Amaya talks about his childhood and education in Bogota, Colombia. He discusses his start in journalism as a young man and working for El Espectador, the Colombian national newspaper. He discusses his experiences reporting on the narco-terrorism occurring in Medellin, Colombia and how this eventually led to his immigration to the United States. Amaya moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001 and continued his career in journalism by working for local Spanish speaking papers and websites. He relates his civic involvement in the Las Vegas area, his work as the president of the Colombian Association of Las Vegas, and various other civic engagements. As a journalist, he asserts the importance of knowing one's culture, storytelling, learning history, and being active in the community.
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Oral history interviews with Olivia Díaz conducted by Nathalie Martinez and Barbara Tabach on August 31 and September 14, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In the first interview, Díaz gives her family and personal history, growing up in Las Vegas but often visiting her family in Durango, Mexico for extended stays. She recalls her matriarchal upbringing, particularly while living in Mexico, and what life was like growing up and going to school in East Las Vegas and at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Subjects discussed include: Mexico; Latina identity. In the second interview, Díaz talks about her English language education career for the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the events that led her to run for Nevada Assembly and Las Vegas City Council. She is presently Nevada's Assemblywoman for District 11 and Las Vegas' Councilwoman for Ward 3. Olivia concludes her interview with insights into her political and educational goals for the community and the initiatives she has focused on in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Oral history interview with José Luis Meléndrez conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez on November 20, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Meléndrez discusses his family background and early life in Baja California. He talks about his father's decision to migrate to the United States, and attending Catholic schools in California, Nevada, and Texas as the family moved around the country. Meléndrez recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990, enrolling at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America affiliated program, Learning for Life. Later, Meléndrez describes attending the University of Michigan, earning a master's degree in social work, and becoming executive director for the office of Community Partnerships in the UNLV School of Public Health. Lastly, Meléndrez discusses the future of the Las Vegas Latinx community, and becoming a founding member and chair for the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition.
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Oral history interview with Jessica Anderson conducted by Claytee D. White on March 7, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Anderson begins talking about her early life, family, work history, and the reason why she had moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1991. She goes on to talk about the history of Outdoors Nevada where she currently works, and what she was doing the day of October 1, 2017. Anderson recalls how she found out about the shooting, reaching out to friends, and learning more about what happened that night. Anderson talks about the aftermath of the event, how it affected everyone involved, and the healing aspect afterwards. Lastly, she describes the process of creating the Healing Garden, the features of the garden, and the future plans for the area.
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Oral history interview with Anthony Kappenman conducted by Claytee D. White on May 16, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Kappenman begins the interview by talking about his early life, childhood, work, and his time in the military. Afterwards, he recalls what he did on October 1, 2017 prior to the Route 91 festival and during the shooting. He describes his journey trying to escape the area, arriving at the airport injured, and his stay in the hospital. Then, Kappenman talks about how he felt about the way the city and first responders had responded during the shooting, and how the community united afterwards. Lastly, he talks about his opinions on gun control, his recovery, and how he felt after the shooting.
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