Celebrating Excellence AMEY EVALUNA, MPA Program Manager, Office of Community Engagement & Diversity Initiatives Education: College of Southern Nevada, Associate of Arts in Anthropology University of Nevada Las Vegas, Bachelor of Science in Public Administration Master of Public Administration Campus Involvement: Dreamers Club Advisor
TANYA SMITH Future doctoral degree candidate Tanya Smith grew up bi-coastally. Her mother lived in Virginia
Senior
and her father lived in California. “My mother embodied the spirit of Southern hospitality, always friendly, loving, and welcoming to anyone regardless of who they were.” Growing up with exposure to multiple cultures shaped her worldview. When Tanya was 14, her mother was murdered. At that point her life took a painful and dangerous turn. Then entered a mentor named Penny McNeil, a teacher who saw and nurtured Tanya’s potential. A village of women soon grew around Tanya and held her up in the toughest imaginable times by fostering her resiliency with support. Tanya reflects, “A mentor planted the seed that made me believe I could one day have a Ph.D. I am working toward it so that I can one day change other people’s lives the way she changed mine.”
Major: Psychology, Sociology and Social Justice minors Education: East Coast Polytechnic Institute University, Bachelor of Science in Business/IT Management
Fewer than one percent of teen moms go on to earn a college degree. Amey Evaluna has earned three. Ask her family about her childhood and you’ll hear, “Amey’s nose was always in a book.” Perhaps reading helped her escape. It certainly helped her hide. She was born when her mother was 17. Her father, convicted of rape, went to prison when she was 3 years old. Later, an alcoholic step-parent moved in. Amidst turmoil, on the steps of her trailer, Amey read and grew. Unaware that patterns need not repeat, by age 21 Amey was a single mom of three children. She married a man who filled the generational space for abuse. For 12 years, Amey and her children suffered. Finally, in 2015, she was freed. “I pursued my education with tenacity no matter what else was happening, because I knew it would contribute to my ability to overcome.” These days, Amey works to dismantle elements that perpetuate abuse while also learning to take care of herself. “Healing with post-traumatic stress disorder takes daily work. But time heals all wounds, and I am a hard worker.”
Celebrating Excellence TIM CHRISTENSON Junior
Tim Christenson is passionate about educational equity. A diverse learner himself, Tim observed that students with learning disabilities must
Major: Psychology with a Concentration in Addiction Treatment and Prevention Campus Involvement: Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology member
often work to overcome stigmas and depressed expectations around their potential for success. His drive to help others succeed inspired him to work with the Disability Resource Center to create Nevada State’s Inclusive Initiative (I2 or “I-squared”), a high-school-to-college transition program for diverse learners. Tim shares, “Learning to self-advocate in and out of the classroom has informed my opinion that all diverse learners need greater institutional support.” I2 is designed to empower diverse learners so that they may fully realize their potential academically, socially, and emotionally. Tim plans to pursue a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and open his own counseling program with a focus on integrated health and wellness techniques.
SANDI PATTON, M.S. Growing up in rural Alabama in a tiny K–12 school, Sandi was bullied relentlessly. She knows
Disability Resource Center Director
the deep, everlasting pain that bullying causes. She reflects, “I still feel the sting of it at times.” Her father developed lead poisoning when she was 9 years old, and he never fully recovered. Sandi helped raise her brothers, who were age 4, 1, and an infant when her father became ill. Out
Education: Auburn University, Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling
of 100 first cousins, she was the very first to graduate from college. An academic advisor who knew her family history introduced Sandi to the rehabilitation counseling field. Sandi believes that if her father had been able to experience a rehabilitation program, the lives of everyone in her family would have changed. That knowledge has guided her career to be focused on lifting up others one individual and one accommodation at a time.
Campus Involvement: ScorpionVETS Advisor
Celebrating Excellence ANDRA SCANO, MSN, RN, COI Lecturer, School of Nursing
Andra is a first-generation college graduate who worked hard to achieve her goals with limited academic and financial support. She knows firsthand what it is like to work while going to
Education: University of Nevada Las Vegas, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Master of Science in Nursing Certified Online Instructor
school and navigating through the complex academic environment to find resources needed to be successful. Andra reflects, “I feel fortunate to have had these challenges as they made me a better educator, an advocate for students, and a role model for my own children.” A lifelong Nevadan with over 25 years of diverse nursing experience, Andra seeks to inspire students to be change agents. She creates opportunities for them advocate for the health and safety of their communities. Andra has developed many partnerships which enable Nevada State students to engage with coalitions and at-risk populations, “so that they can understand and impact barriers to wellness and psychosocial well-being.”
CONNIE FELTNER Connie Feltner’s foundation of hope and enthusiasm for the future radiates when she says, “I use my eyes to smile.” Due to a congenital spinal injury, nerve conductivity in her legs and face is impaired or inactive and leg braces help her to walk. She comes from a family of educators and farmers who valued hard work. Connie’s father was a math teacher who encouraged her to consider her circumstances like a math proof, and taught her to look for an alternate solution. As part of the first generation of disabled students that were “mainstreamed,” Connie’s mother helped with the difficult lesson of valuing herself, not what others thought. Married for 20 years and recently returned to Las Vegas after time working at the University of San Francisco, Connie’s goal is to provide studentcentric support and model that anything can be accomplished with a positive attitude.
Records Analyst for Degree Audit & Curriculum Education: University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management
Celebrating Excellence STEVEN CLIFFORD Senior
Nevada State senior Steven Clifford gives amazing hugs. The kind of hugs that somehow leave you walking away liking yourself a
Major: Psychology Education: College of Southern Nevada, Certificate in Music Business & Technology Campus Involvement: Nevada State Student Alliance Chair of Programming, Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology Member, Table Tennis Club Member
percentage more than you did before you ran into him. A future marriage and family therapist about to begin a master’s program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, his caring and healing energy is launching him toward his destiny. Steven grew up in the music industry and in a community of activism, supported by strong women. A visual artist himself, he credits creativity and patience as the core traits which help him be the best version of himself. “Being dyslexic and having apraxia shaped me to be a resilient individual. Through growth mindset, I can achieve anything I put my mind to.” Steven’s life work is to help other young people suffering from a disability, regardless of whether or not it is visible to others.
DANETTE BARBER After serving in the U.S. Navy and then caring for her family as a stay-at-home mom while taking classes at the College of Southern Nevada,
Course Assistant Program Coordinator
Danette returned to school full time at Nevada State in 2014. Upon earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she transitioned to our administrative faculty team, and started graduate school at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Her current research fosuces on academic risk taking. In her role as the Course Assistant Program coordinator, Danette focuses on promoting the use of metacognition and effective learning strategies. “Successful communities commit to
Education: Nevada State College, Bachelor of Science in Psychology University of Nevada Las Vegas, Master of Science in Educational Psychology in progress, May 2019 projected completion.
practices that take responsibility for the wellbeing of their members,” says the Lunch with Friends host, “and that’s built on interpersonal relationships. A good-morning smile can be the foundation of a successful community, when it’s reciprocated and built upon.” Danette is committed to helping Nevada State be a campus where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Military Background: U.S. Navy, Machinist’s Mate
Celebrating Excellence SHARTRIYA COLLIER, Ed.D. Associate Dean, School of Education
“Transforming the world, one mind at a time,” which is Shartriya Collier’s personal motto, begins with the transformation of one’s self. Shartriya’s transformation actualized in high school, when
Education: Xavier University, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Columbia University, Master of Arts in Bilingual/ Bicultural Education Temple University, Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
she realized she need not stay on the “B” track that was assigned to her and the few other black students she knew. With six siblings and a single father focused on medical school, Shartriya lacked both confidence and parental support. In time, she recognized she would have to become her own advocate. Action-oriented then as she is now, she enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, paving the way for future research on multicultural education and parental involvement. “I seek to help students and families realize they create their own ‘life story,’ and they are not confined by a pre-conceived narrative of who they should be based upon race, gender, class, language, ability, or other factors.”
IRENE AUXILIADORA CEPEDA, M.Ed. Irene developed the skill of speaking up for others at a young age. She shares, “Spanish was
Title V-HSI Project Coordinator
my first language, however as I learned English, I became my parents translator and advocate.” Her family migrated to the U.S. from Nicaragua as they fled instability and war. As firstgeneration immigrants, graduating from college was established as an expectation for Irene and her sister. Today, youth leadership development is Irene’s passion. Over the last 11 years she has contributed to this work as a coordinator of the Latino Youth Leadership Conference, and she was recently elected as a Clark County School District Board of Directors trustee. “Preparing future leaders through mentorship and shared experiences is vital to our democracy. Anyone can be a leader or a champion of a cause. All it takes is a little bit of courage and resilience to keep on working.”
Education: University of Nevada Las Vegas, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Master of Education
Celebrating Excellence SIERRA ADARE-TASIWOOPA API, Ph.D. Instructional Technologist/ Adjunct Faculty , School of Liberal Arts & Sciences Education: SUNY Empire State College, Bachelor of Arts in English, Writing & History University of Kansas, Master of Arts in Indigenous Nations Studies University at Buffalo, Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies
In addition to being an absolute Canvas pro, Sierra is the author of 14 published books including a novel, five children’s books, a book on TV science fiction, two cookbooks with travel narratives, and an English composition reader co-authored with her husband who she describes as “caring, consciences, thoughtful, and loving.” A descendent of the Cherokee Trail of Tears survivors, Sierra’s parents were both skilled traditional oral storytellers. Fortunately for many, they passed on their love of stories and storytelling. In the last decade, Sierra and her husband were in three no-fault-of-their-own car accidents. The resulting injuries and surgeries greatly impacted Sierra’s health, wellbeing, and mobility. Sierra shares, “I am much more aware of just how difficult accessibility truly is, regardless of the type of access needed, and why it is so important to have accessibility for everyone.”
AL HARDIMON Abundantly rich life experience qualifies Alvin Hardimon to contribute matchless skill to the Nevada State community and all of our diverse
Director of Post-Award Financial Services
populations. Recruited off the farm in Arkansas at the age of 17, the U.S. Air Force led Al to countless incredible opportunities, including a position on the All-Star basketball team at Whiteman Air Force Base and a stint modeling for Converse. He was a member of the team that tested the initial rollout of internet capabilities for the military. He walked on the Greenland ice sheet, and visited and enjoyed seal meat with the Inuit. After 24 years of service, Al retired a 100-percent disabled veteran. Currently, Al counsels veterans on submission of disability claims to the Veterans Benefits Administration. Smiling, he shares, “I get great pleasure in deleting obstacles that people face!”
Education: Certified Microsoft Access Database Developer Military Background: Disabled Veteran U.S. Air Force, Master Sergeant