After leading with heart and hustle as a student, Conner McCubbin steps up again by creating a new scholarship for Honors College student leaders.

When Katie Wells ’14 met Conner McCubbin ’16 as a student in UNLV’s Honors College, her first impression of her future life partner was “he wore exceptionally large Nike basketball clothes.” And, she thought, “I bet he doesn’t even play basketball.”

First impressions can deceive. McCubbin was – and still is – an avid basketball player. Today though, as a dad of a one-year-old and a successful financial consultant, he’s just as likely to wear a snug-fitting polo shirt and khakis. Still, it’s easy to imagine him as a tank-topped, sweatpants-clad UNLV student, trying to wrest the most from his college experience.

Key to that experience was a deep dive into student leadership. As he pursued his degree in mechanical engineering, McCubbin served as Honors Student Council (HSC) president and led the way in building a sense of community among Honors College students. He embraced his service as an advocate and firebrand – and learned the rewards of giving back.

Heading the student-led organization was demanding, exhilarating, and humbling: McCubbin recounts the semester he spent far too many hours running a series of “Taste of Vegas” field trips to give out-of-state students a chance to better appreciate life beyond campus. Or, showing up in his signature Nike tank top and sweats to carve turkeys in the kitchen while his friends feasted at the HSC’s FriendsGiving celebration. He loved it.

 “We had some fun,” he understates with a smile.

Serving as president of the HSC was foundational to McCubbin’s UNLV education and success; today, he’s a principal at the financial firm Guida & McCubbin. And, at just 30 years of age, he established the Conner G. McCubbin HSC Leadership Scholarship, an award for the HSC president and vice-president.

“Taking on that leadership responsibility deserves to be incentivized,” McCubbin reflects. “It is asking a lot of somebody who is already going above and beyond. HSC leaders might be trying to complete one or two degrees while spearheading events and keeping up with their peers in the more challenging Honors College courses.”

Current HSC president Isabella Romero and vice-president Kira Kramer are accustomed to performing above and beyond. Romero, a self-driven athlete and biochemistry major, and Kramer, who is majoring in public health, are the inaugural recipients of the McCubbin HSC Leadership Scholarship. And while they relish the experience they’re gaining, the extra funding goes a long way to relieve their financial pressures.

The award also reinforces their sense of purpose. “When you receive a scholarship, you feel that you’re in a contract to serve,” Kramer reflects.

Romero and Kramer are fulfilling their service to HSC with creativity and gusto. Just watch an episode of “HSC TV” that they recently launched on Instagram and you’ll see that they take their responsibility to engage students seriously – but not that seriously.

“Honors College students are the “try hards” – we’re resume packers, we’re competitive,” Romero says. “A lot of students feel isolated, especially our incoming class who were most affected by COVID.

“We want people to join HSC because they want to belong. We want HSC to set a bar so high that students will want to get involved – and love it.”

McCubbin met with Romero and Kramer this fall for a lively exchange of ideas and information. It was an encounter that McCubbin had long anticipated.

When he was a student, McCubbin was also a recipient of a leadership scholarship: the Bennett Honors Mentor Scholarship. He remembers meeting Diana Bennett, the person who made his scholarship possible, and thinking, “One day, I want to be in her shoes, getting to meet students who are receiving a scholarship that I created.”

He didn’t think that day would happen so soon, but the urgency he felt to create the scholarship reflects how much he values the support and encouragement he received as an Honors College student.

“I can’t believe that day has already come,” he says, “and I couldn’t be more proud!”