Three UNLV graduate students recently received a national Love of Learning Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. They are among 100 award recipients nationwide.

Erick López, a doctoral student in sociology, will use funds from the award to travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to attend a research methods training titled "Health Disparities, Health Inequities and Vulnerable Populations: Research Examining and Understanding Complexity" and hosted by the world-renowned Interuniversity Consortium of Political and Social Research in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Alfonso Toro, ’17 M.Ed, is a Teach for America ’15 corps member and a full-time 8th grade English teacher in the inner city. His passion lies in creating access for others and he believes that education is the key to opportunity. Alfonso will use the award to travel to Frankfurt, Germany, to pursue German language lessons.

Shelly Volsche is a visiting lecturer with the Academic Success Center and a doctoral candidate in anthropology. She is completing her dissertation on the formation and practice of the childfree identity, including what this emergent identity can teach us about the postmodern era. She is an engaged professor who believes continuing to learn is at the core of creating community within her classroom and the broader UNLV community.