Pechous got involved in several student organizations, was Lee Business School Ambassador, joined the Honors College, and became a new student orientation leader. Next up: Law school.

The president of the grad student association and UNLV employee added another Rebel degree to her credentials.

After graduation, the Reno native is heading to Portland, Oregon, for a year to complete her general practice residency at Oregon Health & Science University.

The first-generation student became president of Student Technologists Association in Radiological Science and plans to return this fall for another degree in MRI pathology.

DiBenedetto came from New York to study with leading professors and live in a different part of the country. “And Las Vegas is that,” she said.

The Las Vegas native completed her undergrad at Reno and returned home for law school. After graduation, she’ll head north again for a clerkship in Carson City.

The nontraditional student worked as a flight attendant and juggled motherhood as she discovered her path to becoming a storyteller.