A future doctor, a celebrated vocalist, a mental health counselor, and two budding business leaders are among the graduates to be honored May 16 at UNLV's spring commencement.
For more than a decade, the university has sought campus and community nominations for outstanding graduates to be recognized by the president during commencement. President Len Jessup will carry on the tradition this spring by highlighting five newly minted grads for their academic success, research, and community service.
The five are part of an estimated 2,700 expected to graduate from UNLV this spring -- a 15 percent increase over last year. Grads range in age from 19 to 68 and hail from 38 states and 54 countries. Approximately 85 percent of the graduates are Nevada residents.
Tyler Bergsten, BSBA Finance
A native of Phoenix, Bergsten chose to attend UNLV over five other universities and has excelled both in the classroom and on the gridiron as a tight end for the Rebel football team. As a finance major, Bergsten earned a 3.9 GPA and was named a Mountain West Scholar Athlete and UNLV's Academic All American from 2011 through 2013.
Bergsten recently completed a demanding internship program at Valtus Capital Group. While here at UNLV, Bergsten was an economist for the Rebel Investment Group and was a member of the student chapter of the Financial Management Association.
One professor remarked, "I've worked in corporate America for 20 years and I am very bullish on Tyler's prospects after he leaves UNLV."
Next, Bergsten heads to Chicago, where he already has been hired by BMO Harris Bank in its commercial banking analyst program.
Tamaki Horiuchi, MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling
An international student from Nagoya Japan, Tamaki Horiuchi, is now adding a master's degree to her UNLV credentials. She received her bachelor's degree in hospitality management in 2011. As a resident assistant on campus, Horiuchi had worked with many international students who had difficulties adjusting to a new culture. That's when she decided to pursue clinical mental health counseling.
"She has become an advocate to support other international students such as herself who, though experienced hardships while adjusting to their new life in the U.S., ultimately found support, advocacy, and success from caring groups such as counselors," said Jared Lau, assistant professor of educational and clinical studies.
Horiuchi is a volunteer for the Japan American Society of Nevada where she coordinated back-to-school and holiday meal projects with S.A.F.E. House and Three Square Food Bank.
She held a 3.9 GPA while working on her master's and serving a graduate internship at UNLV's counseling and psychological services as well as a graduate assistantship with the Student Affairs maintenance division. Horiuchi passed the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination, a national exit exam, scoring 121 (out of 136). It was the second-highest score in the nation, putting Horiuchi in the 99.8 percentile.
A winner of several scholarships, Horiuchi is a member of the Omega Alpha chapter of Chi Sigma Iota International, a professional and academic honor society, served as an officer, and received the chapter's Outstanding Student Contribution award.
Her goal is to work in a higher education setting to advocate for international students, minorities, and immigrants. She plans to pursue a doctoral degree with a focus on recruiting international students to the U.S. to become counselors.
Emily Sauer, BSBA Marketing
Emily Sauer's academic career at the Lee Business School has opened the door for her professional ambitions.
Sauer, also a UNLV Honors College student, will graduate with a 3.9 GPA and a resume of leadership and business experience. As part of the business school's selective Global Entrepreneurship Experience (GEE), she traveled to Panama to study unique business models in hopes of bringing new products and services to world markets. Through the program, Sauer received a scholarship and fulfilled an entrepreneurship minor.
She was awarded first place in the Innovation Tournament held by the GEE program, competed in the UNLV Contender's Challenge in 2011 and 2013, and was selected as one of six Lee Business School International Ambassadors.
Her awards include the O'Bannon Family Scholarship, the Dee Smith Endowed Scholarship, the UNLV Excellence Scholarship, the Millennium Scholarship, and an Honors College Scholarship. During her senior year, Sauer was named one of five students in the first class of Lee Scholars.
Additionally, she was chosen to be a part of the inaugural 2013-14 TEDxUNLV team as a member of the sponsorship committee.
She is completing marketing internships at both NV Energy and the World Affairs Council of Las Vegas. Sauer plans to attend Pepperdine University School of Law to pursue a career in international human rights, with a particular emphasis on women's empowerment in developing nations.
Kevin Tamadonfar, BS Biological Sciences
Kevin Tamadonfar has come a long way since he was valedictorian of Green Valley High School in Henderson and scored in the top 3 percent of SAT test-takers nationally. A biology major with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology, Tamadonfar won a prestigious fellowship two summers ago through the National Science Foundation to work in a lab at a Chinese university. He also is on a team led by UNLV professor Brian Hedlund exploring life at high temperatures in seemingly inhospitable geothermal hot springs.
Tamadonfar, who is also a student in UNLV's Honors College, has presented his research at UNLV and in China, and this summer will share his work at the American Society for Microbiology annual meeting in New Orleans. His professors say his ingenuity in the laboratory is remarkable for an undergraduate student.
In his spare time, Tamadonfar is a volunteer at St. Rose Dominican Hospital-Siena Campus and at the Heart Center of Nevada.
Tamadonfar has excelled here at UNLV, achieving a 4.0 GPA and scoring in the top 1 percent nationally on his Medical College Admission Test. In the coming weeks he will begin his first research rotation in the MD-Ph.D. program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Stephanie Weiss, DMA Vocal Performance
Stephanie Weiss, who is graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance, already has met with substantial professional success.
A mezzo-soprano, Stephanie has performed with opera companies around the globe. A regular guest artist with Deutsche Oper Berlin, she also has sung with the Berlin Philharmonic, Frankfurt Opera, Bern Opera, Opera Cologne, and the San Diego Opera, among others.
An outstanding student with a 4.0 GPA, she was a Midwest Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition.
Music professor Alfonse Anderson describes her voice as "powerful, resonant, and dramatic."
Happily, completion of her degree does not mark her departure from UNLV. Instead, she has joined the faculty of College of Fine Arts where she will share her talents with students as an assistant professor of voice.
