Three UNLV graduates, a professor, and a staff member received special recognition from the local Native American community last month as part of the Honor the Elders program.
The three Native American students were recognized for the achievement of completing college. They were:
* Shelly Herrera, a Western Shoshone from Wells, who completed her course work for a bachelor of science degree in health education last December. She now works as a prevention specialist at the Las Vegas Indian Center. Her work involves educating youth on alcohol abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, and AIDS.
* Glenna Lee of the Navajo Nation, who received a bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies. Her senior thesis project was titled "Soil Chemistry and Nutrition of Loblolly Pine: Evidence of Recent Change."
* Gypsy Williams of the Walker River Reservation in Northern Nevada, who received a bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies. She plans to attend medical school and become an epidemiologist. Her senior thesis concerned factors involved in the high incidence of lung cancer in Clark County.
Also recognized during the event were professor James Deacon, who heads UNLV's environmental studies program, and John Lujan, who is in charge of the university's affirmative action office.
Deacon was honored both for developing the environmental studies program and for his work in recruiting Native American students into the program.
Lujan was recognized for his work in recruiting Native American students to attend UNLV.
The Honor the Elders program is sponsored by the Las Vegas Indian Center, Southern Nevada's largest non-profit organization serving the Native American population.
