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Rebels, tune in to 'Let's Talk UNLV' with Dr. Sammie Scales. Your express pass to everything UNLV — campus highlights, programs, and the latest buzz. Join us weekly as we chat with student leaders, administrators, and faculty, diving into the core of what makes us Rebels.
The program brings guests from different areas of UNLV every week to discuss campus highlights, programs and services, research interests that are essential to being a Rebel. Let’s Talk UNLV places its emphasis on connecting with student leaders who represent the voice of students on our campus. Guests also include administrators, faculty and staff responsible for upholding the mission of the university, which is teaching, research and scholarship.
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Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a kunv Studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Unknown Speaker 0:20
Welcome to another episode of Let's Talk Kun V 91.5 I am your host, Dr Sandy scales, and I am so happy to have Isabelle Herrera Pedro with us. She's from student diversity programs, and I think it's important that the students get to know some of the coordinators over there, because Isabelle plays a huge part over in student diversity programs when it comes to creating programs Welcome and thank you for joining us. Isabelle, thank
Unknown Speaker 0:45
you so much. Dr scales, it's an honor to be here, and thank you so much for considering me. You
Unknown Speaker 0:49
are absolutely welcome as I start with all of the shows. I would like to start with your audience story, like telling us where you get your undergrad, your master's, and how did you end up here at beautiful UNLV. How did that happen for you?
Unknown Speaker 1:01
Wow. Dr scales to get started. Well, I was born and raised here in Las Vegas, Nevada. I graduated from Clark High School. Go chargers, once a charger, always a charger. Had to throw in the little rep in there. I actually did my I graduated high school in 2016 and then I did my undergrad years at Utah Tech University, formerly known as Dixie State. Graduated there in 2020, right after that, I took a year off, decided to go do summer sales, make some supposedly easy money, which I did, paid off some loans after that. And then I was like, Okay, what's my what's my life now at Utah Tech, I had a mentor, which, you know that that individual helped me throughout my college career. If it weren't for them, honestly and their patience and everything I don't, I don't think I'd be sitting here in front of you today. Their name is cesaria Selwyn. They got me, they introduced me into everything, dei, and one day, I just decided to go visit them. And they were like, hey, like, there's, there's a position opening up at Utah tech. And I was like, for what, they're, like, the Asian, American, Pacific Islander coordinate program coordinator. And I was like, Oh my gosh, let's do it. So I applied, you know, got, I ended up getting the job at Utah tech, and luckily for me, I was able to also start doing my master's program at Utah Valley University, which I'm currently still working on in public administration. So that's where so far, that's where I've been at. And then now, unfortunately, due to legislation and changes in law, the state of Utah got rid of everything Dei. They think it's evil. And with that being said, I only had like, two months to figure out what I was going to do after they basically were, like, July 1. We're not having any more dei programming. Y'all got to figure out what you're gonna do, and that kind of lit a fire in me. And so I started researching jobs, and I wanted to continue working in Dei, and I looked at UNLV website, and they were looking for a program coordinator, and I was like, wow, I need to, I need to hop on that once I did, you know, now I'm here. Now I'm here, and I'm forever grateful for the opportunity that UNLV has given me. Excellent,
Unknown Speaker 3:27
excellent. So what was your undergrad in? What's your degree in? Undergrad? Criminal Justice, criminal justice. Okay, and your masters, you said that, but say it again for public administration, administration. Okay, cool. So, um, how have you enjoyed it so far being here at UNLV,
Unknown Speaker 3:41
I love it. I love the students, love the people that I work with. Love our department. I also love the opportunity to continue working in Dei, which is, I never knew that that was going to be a passion of mine, and now it is. But I love the reward that it comes with. I love seeing students graduate. I love seeing them reach their fullest potential in undergrad and as well as, like, once they start getting into these grad programs and going to med school or whatever that looks like, I'm just like, I'm so proud of you. Like, I've been there, I know how hard college was. So,
Unknown Speaker 4:14
yes, absolutely, you know, I can definitely relate to that. You know, I called many of times when I was at San Diego State in my undergrad major, I was an English major for undergrad, and in my master's program, I was an English major as well, getting a master's in English with the focus in children's lit. But there was plenty of times when I was the only one that looked like me, only black men, only black anything in these classes. So I know what that sense of belonging. And you know Dei, when it came to looking at the syllabus, I saw none of the authors that looked like me. So I definitely wanted to change that when I became a professor. So I made sure that all of my students could look at my syllabus and see themselves reflected in that syllabus. So that was great. So when it comes to the program and over at SDP. Here student diversity programs. I'm gonna be using acronym, acronym, SDP, so What strategies do you employ to ensure that programs that you develop are inclusive and resonate with diverse student population here at UNLV?
Unknown Speaker 5:12
Well, that's a very good question. Thank you. Well, I start by actively listening. I love to hear what the students want first before I try to do anything because, well, it's no longer for me, you know, like it's now for these future generations. And some key strategies that I use is I ensure inclusivity. I make sure that the diverse student population is collaborating with not just our departments, but community organizations getting their foot into the door because I, I tell students all the time, I'm like, sometimes networking gets you in places where your degree will not so by getting involved, get yourself involved. You know, you never know who you're gonna talk to, or me, and you never know they're gonna just lend you a hand in the future, right? So and that, not only that, but I help them like when it comes to planning for whatever it is that they their vision is, and see how it could be, you know, just more engaging, not just within their community, but see how we can bring and educate everybody else that they might know what the event is being planned about.
Unknown Speaker 6:24
Yeah, exactly. That's one of the things that I do at the events as well. I make sure that I try to talk to different students to see what would they like next. What do we do in this program that you like, and what according to this program that you since you've seen this program, what can we improve upon? So those are some of the things that I look at when I'm doing the programming over there as well. Full disclosure, I work over in SDP, also with Isabelle, so I definitely get to see her start programs from the start to finish, and from what I've seen thus far, Isabel is really good at this position, so we're glad to have you as part of the team. Can you describe a recent program or workshop you've organized that have had a significant impact on student engagement here on campus?
Unknown Speaker 7:04
Yes. So the way that STP works is each program coordinator is a liaison for an event, or is in charge of an event. In this case, for Hispanic Heritage Month, I was in charge of two events, or I am in charge of two events. The first one is passed, which was our Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff. Honestly, the students, I'm going to be honest with you. Dr scales, I never thought the students were going to be so into the pinata breaking.
Unknown Speaker 7:30
Oh yes,
Unknown Speaker 7:31
I saw that. We had our director up there holding on to the pinata. It was actually such a nice thing to see the students appreciate it. They're like, Uncle Reyes. I'm like, you know, if we, if we got to get uncle Reyes to do that, we gonna get him to do that. But the students use it. I don't know if they just use it as a stress reliever. I don't know if they really wanted the candy or whatever was going on inside the piano, but they they loved it. They also loved the food that we had, which we had tamales from El Sazon. We had Kahoot. And with the Kahoot questions, they were all related to Hispanic Heritage Month. And there were some questions that students didn't even know, and they were like, wow, I didn't know that that was a thing. So just having the students being engaged and having them there. And it was, for me, it was impactful just seeing the amount of students that showed up, yeah, that's what
Unknown Speaker 8:26
I was going to mention, also the amount of students that showed up. I was definitely blown away from that. And I did see that the food started disappearing fairly, fairly quickly. So yeah, I'm sure that they enjoyed the food as well. It was a very good event. And what was the second event? You said you had two events. That was one, the second
Unknown Speaker 8:41
one, and this is me promoting, is going to be on October 15. So that's our lottery and low riders. That's going to be in the SU courtyard from seven to nine. We partnered up with CSUN, so our student government, they will be, you know, doing the giveaways. They will be in charge of the giveaways. We will also have the Mexican consulate there. We'll have a DJ. It's not just for students. This is also going to be a community event. So, you know, if students, and this is where that intersectionality comes in, I have met a lot of students that are non traditional, you know, they started school later in life, and they want to bring their family. They want to bring their kids to these events. And I'm just like, why not? Why? Why can't we cater to you? Like, let's go ahead and do it. So that's going to be that family event that STP is going to be putting on for to to end our Hispanic Heritage Month. Well, that's
Unknown Speaker 9:33
definitely sounds exciting, and that's gonna be on pita Plaza, correct?
Unknown Speaker 9:36
The whole su section, Student Union section. Yes, I am
Unknown Speaker 9:40
certainly looking forward to that event. So what challenges have you faced in engaging students from underrepresented communities, and how did you overcome those challenges if you've, if you've had any,
Unknown Speaker 9:50
I'm gonna touch on a little bit, just just a tad bit at I came from a predominantly white institution. Utah tech is predominantly white. Right? And I honestly, I'm grateful that I went through these challenges with a PWI, because now it's easier for me when I receive pushback, or whatever that looks like, right to kind of get to keep going like for me, pushback isn't necessarily a bad thing for me, it's just I take it as a positive thing. And I'm like, okay, they said no, but let me show you why, why we we do what we do, right? So when it comes to some of the challenges that I faced was the lack of awareness and some conflicting schedules that we that I had in my previous institution, some of these challenges that I overcame was just by building strong relationships with departments. Mind you, when I was at Utah Tech, I mean, I went from being a student to now on the other side of the coin being an employee. So a lot of these departments still saw me as a student, not necessarily as a professional. Now, and I'm just like, yeah, no, I can do both. Y'all. I can I can be both. So I had my foot in the door because I was a student, but now they had to see me in action and actually putting to work what it is that I wanted to do, right? So some of those were challenges, as well as there were times where I would have some programming events, and sometimes there wasn't enough students, or the ward didn't get out, or some students are just like, Oh, I just don't want to that's one of
Unknown Speaker 11:33
the things that I faced with one of the programs that I put on over in STP. It's called Moca men of color Alliance. And back in August, I put that program on on August, like 23rd and 24th or something like that. And that was like the week the following week after the students had started class so and they was tired of worn out from rubber week, all of that week. So I definitely learned that that was a challenge of having trying to get enough bodies in the room, the amount that I was had in my head, versus what was actually there. So that was one of the things that I definitely learned during rebel week, do not plan anything for that Friday. So I've learned from that, and I've since, you know, have scheduled a program for men of color Alliance coming up october 17 and 18th. The 17th is like the kind of like a barbershop talk kind of thing, and it's going to be free ice cream, and the 18 is going to be the huge networking event. So that's it for the men of color Alliance, october 17 and 18th. So when it comes to collaboration, how do you collaborate with student organizations, faculty and staff and plan to execute identity months or weeks like Latin Heritage Month or Black History Month, even though you already mentioned that you gonna be working was it CSUN thinking with CSUN that you say gonna be working with? So tell us a little bit how that process works. How do you reach out to organizations that, hey, we have this program in mind, and we'd like for you to partner up with us. How does that happen? Well, I
Unknown Speaker 13:00
would definitely like to personally give a shout out to our amazing director of clubs and organizations, Mr. Benny balderama, the way that his system works. SCP, had the opportunity to also get a list of the registered student organizations that are currently active, right and with that being said, each program coordinator is a liaison with registered student organizations. So I have a caseload of 30 different and what I mean by different, they're they're not just Hispanic, they're not just Asian. I have them all. Have some fraternities, some sororities, different clubs and organizations, including sports clubs. So we got women's rugby in there that I'm also a liaison for. And with that being said, their contact information is in there, and so I reach out to them, and I'm like, Hey, there's a potential collaboration for this identity month. I want to hear what. I want to pick at your brain. I want to know what, ideas you have ways that our department can also support your RSO. If you have an event as an RSO and you want to put it on our sdb calendar, we can definitely do that for you. So just like little things, even if they don't necessarily want to be a part of an event, a massive event, but if they want to, you know, hey, I'm having Lotteria with sigma, Omega nu and another frat. Can you put this on the SDP calendar? Yes, we will be happy to go ahead and do that for you. So those are just like little ways that I personally have collaborated with our RSOs when it comes to other departments. Been working on that as well. I'm fairly new, so still getting my foot in the door with other departments. But if we can start, or if I could start with the RSOs that, yeah, you know, you're working for students,
Unknown Speaker 14:50
yeah, and to reserve that scpl lounge over in the Student Union on the first floor is free for these students to do that, so it's easy. So if a student. Wanting to contact you up in STP, how would a student actually contact you if they wanted to contact you, you know, let's say, to schedule themselves for the lounge or to ask questions about programs or to collaborate with you. How would they contact you? Me,
Unknown Speaker 15:13
personally. They are more than welcome to contact me. I am on the third floor of the Student Union Building. We do have front desk assistants, so you just let them know that you're wanting to visit. To visit with Isabelle or any of our program coordinators, Imani Patterson, we have Elena Sidney. My personal email is Isabelle dot Herrera, pedro@unlv.edu I don't have my office phone number memorized at the top of my head, so that's my bad. But yeah, if you ever need to reach out to me or anybody in SDP like please feel free to visit us in the student union building, third floor. Now, when it comes to reserving the SDP lounge, we have amazing student workers that work at the student excuse me, the Yeah, this SDP lounge, and they are able to guide you with a QR code on how to reserve the SDP lounge. And they're amazing. And just let them know that you just, if you don't want to block out the whole whole evening, because there's multiple student organizations that want to use it at the same time, you don't have to, you know, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 16:16
you can use it for specific times the time that you actually need it. So what roles do student feedback play in shaping the diversity programs that you offer?
Unknown Speaker 16:27
Student Feedback is crucial for me when it comes to student diversity programs the way that I've personally done it in the past, I've had focus groups or I just like to talk to students individually and just be like, hey, like, how can I support you, whatever that looks like, even if that's personal, or like your student organization, or if you want to see something like a program that you want to have on campus, like, please let me know how, how that how that looks like. I just, I love hearing students like for me, just listening to what they have to say first, I just want to hear him out. So, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 17:03
there's been times when when I've had students come to me because I try to make sure that I stop and interact with students when I see them down over in the student union, and a few I've gotten to know by name. And there's been a few students that, even though they know that I work in Student Diversity Programs, they've come to me in like, crisis situations, and, you know, sharing with me what's going on and how can I help them resolve whatever issue it is. So but I thank Dr Barlow over in Student Connections, because Dr Barlow has always been a lifesaver for me. So I walk those students over to Dr Barlow, and Dr Barlow is able to pick up the mantle from there and help students with the different issues that they have. So just because we work over in student diversity, programming, you know, we're still human, we're still people. We still have connections on campus that some of the students don't have, and we want to make sure that those students are comfortable coming to us. And while Lisa, I know I am, want to make sure that students are comfortable coming to me to talk to me about anything, and so that, you know, I can do what I can to make sure that whatever issue they're facing is resolved. Now, when it comes to staying informed with national trends and innovations in diversity and equity, how does how is that done? How do you do that? How you stay up to date and abreast on what's happening in that area of dei
Unknown Speaker 18:19
honestly, when it comes to anything lawmaking, because unfortunately, it seems like now dei is becoming more of a negative thing depending on where you're at, yes, the
Unknown Speaker 18:33
state that you're in, yeah. And
Unknown Speaker 18:34
like I said, you know, I came, I'm coming from Utah, right? And that's not me speaking negative on the state. I enjoyed my time while I was there. I tell people all the time I grew up there. I did my adult my adult life there, so But unfortunately, me trying to stay up on these dei trends, it was not looking too good, because the more I keep looking into it, the more I'm seeing, Oh no. Well, this state's getting rid of this. Oh well, this date's getting rid of that. And so now I'm just like, No. Now for me, like I said it earlier, it's like lighting a fire within me, because I'm like no now, because we do have student diversity programs at UNLV, I got to show these students why it's so important exactly because if you were to go to Utah, if you were to go to go to Texas, if you were to go to Wisconsin, you ain't gonna have the support that you want. You're not, yeah, and it's and it sucks. Like, I went like, three years without knowing that I was gonna that I was being supported by, well, Utah Tech's version of student diversity programs. At the time, it was the center for inclusion and belonging. So if I didn't have that, I'm like, if I wouldn't, if, if I wouldn't have had those resources when I did again. Dr, dr scales, I wouldn't be sitting here
Unknown Speaker 19:49
talking, yeah, you know, I think a lot of us are in that situation, because I know for me, I definitely wouldn't be where I am, because I remember being at my last institution at San Diego State. And. And getting so much help and support through EOP there. So if it wasn't for EOP at San Diego State, I don't know if I would literally be sitting in this seat right now, and yes, I definitely agree with what you said earlier. Depending on the state that you're in, depends on whether it's going to dictate whether or not you're going to get the support that you need. So that's why it's always crucial and important that, even though you know we have students on this campus, you know, if you're 18 or older, make sure that you register to vote. Yeah, I don't care who you vote for, but just exercise that right to vote. Definitely
Unknown Speaker 20:37
get yourself educated for sure. Absolutely self educated, for sure, I was one of those students that didn't like to vote or didn't understand the process of voting, you know, but we have resources at UNLV like our beautiful service, Learning and Leadership department on campus. I've had the opportunity to share almost the same space as them. My office is nearly where everybody from SLL is at. So I have the opportunity to, you know, talk to the program coordinators from there as well and see how I can help them promote voter education. I'm not telling you who to vote for. I just want you to vote, yeah, exactly. Bring that education period.
Unknown Speaker 21:18
You know, I had the opportunity to, I've known Carly van holtens Because she's one of the coordinators, that she's amazing, that she's absolutely amazing. And if you think she's amazing, her mother is absolutely phenomenal. I've had the privilege of knowing her family even prior to her being born, so I've known her all of her life, and the effort that she put forth in making sure that students are informed here on this campus. You know, she was just recently recognized for the work that she does when it comes to voter registration. So, yeah, absolutely. So it's definitely important, and I'm going to be reaching out to her to try to, you know, bring her over in housing so that she can set up shop over there to make sure that students are registered regardless of who they are voting for. We don't just care about education. Just get educated and exercise that right to vote. So what initiative have you implemented to support student leadership development, particularly among marginalized or underrepresented groups? Well,
Unknown Speaker 22:10
when it comes to that, thank you for that question. Dr scales, I've supported student leadership by organizing mentorship programs at my previous institution. I was the advisor for our multicultural inclusion Student Association before it got dissolved, and I'm trying to bring that here at UNLV, actually, in whatever capacity that looks like at my previous institution, I had 27 students scholarships to be a part of their multicultural inclusion. It's almost like the Multicultural Student Government that I was the advisor for at my previous institution, and like I said, we had 27 students that were scholarships. Gave 27 students the opportunity to continue their education, right. And five of them were cohorted. They were RSO club presidents. So we had our multicultural clubs cohorted in there as well, which we, I say we, because it was definitely a collaborative part, yeah, effort, partnership. I'm not saying that I did all the work. Nope. These students came up with the ideas. And I'm just like, Yes, do it. This is how this would look like. This is who you need to talk to go talk to facilities. You know, just teaching them ideally what I do for a job. I'm teaching them or delegating as well. Hey, this is who you need to talk to. This is what that event looks like, whatever programming and so we facilitated, excuse me, we facilitated a lot of community building and leadership development. We would have retreats prior to the school year starting, just so everybody was on the same page when it came to our mission, our vision, and who you were working for, because you're working for the student body, you know. The student fees is for the student body, you know. And so these efforts led to a significant improvement in student engagement and involvement, whether that was our multicultural group or just students in general that wanted to learn about the events and programming stuff that we were doing.
Unknown Speaker 24:11
So, Okay, excellent. Let's say if money was not an issue, if money was no problem, what would you like to see for student diversity programs
Unknown Speaker 24:23
definitely our own. I see now, I don't want to say like Multicultural Student Council, but something similar to that. That way we have not just our program coordinators and our directors doing now, I hope this doesn't sound wrong, but like doing all the work, but having more student input, teaching them the ins and outs of what we do as well, and hopefully instill that passion for not necessarily dei but what they do, like everything. So that's something that I would hope to see you here. UNLV, even if, even if it didn't have the money aspect to it. But, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 25:04
yeah, I always go with, you know, I like to see them in their own standalone building, a very nice building here on campus. And for all of the coordinators, you know, to have their own nice, big office. And also for all of the RSOs to have an office so they can work out of, you know, because I'm sure that they, because I see many different RSOs over in the source room, over in the student union, on the third floor, but I would like to see a building, a standalone building for SDP where, you know, on the second or third level, all of the RSOs have their own office. And so they get that training on how to run an office. They get skills. We have learning outcomes and goals that they can meet just so they can get that experience to have something to put on their resume as well. Because of all of this work, it's not easily done, not at all. And I know you, not very long ago, you was a student, you were a student. So what's your best advice that you can offer for students when it comes to scpl, dealing with them, or when it comes and when it comes to being a student on campus, what's your best advice for students?
Unknown Speaker 26:12
I know y'all are gonna be sick and tired of me saying this, but on all honesty, like it was something that became life for me, be involved. Honestly, like I said, we probably sound like broken records telling students to be involved, but in all honesty, I'm going to go back to what I said earlier. Networking got me in places where my degree did not and so I tell students all the time, when we go to these presentations, I'm like, the more you get involved. The more you get stuff put on your resume, the more these jobs are going to look at and be like that person is qualified, because they might not have that job experience, but that leadership, the experience that they had, from one creating events or being involved in here, or upholding a vice president position in the RSO, that gets you into places. Yes, absolutely. I tell, like I said, I tell students all the time. I use an example. I'm like, we got Jimmy over here with the 4.0 didn't do anything. Would just go to class and go to go home and come back. Wasn't involved. And then we have Karen over here, who was involved. Didn't probably have the best GPA, but she was involved. If I was an employer, I'd be looking and I'd be like, I'm picking Karen over Jimmy, just because she has the initiative of doing X and Y and Z. And I'm not gonna sit here and try to tell her what to do. She should, not necessarily, she should already know, but she will have that motivation, self starter, correct to do things without being told,
Unknown Speaker 27:42
yeah, exactly, you know. And a lot of times it has to do with just which is the same thing you're saying. It's not what you know, it's who you know. You know. Number one, being involved on campus boost a student's GPA, student grades, and so they're going to do better by being connected and feeling like they actually belong to something here on campus. But you know, you're going to run into those situations where people are going to remember you to remember you here on campus, you know. And if you know you're going out for a job interview somewhere, or even interviewing here on campus, if someone had met you before, and you've always put your best foot forward, they're going to remember you. And so, like you said, that that experience would get you into places where that degree can't Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 28:20
and not only that, but definitely take upon all the free resources that we do have on campus, because, again, they're paid for by your student fees you already prepaid. You've paid for them. You know, when I hear students, well, do I have to pay for the food at an event? I'm like, No, your student fees already paid for that. Yes, you good. You can. You can go in, grab the food and go to class, right? And so, because at other institutions that are a lot more expensive, like, let's not go too far. Let's use Harvard, for example, you got to pay for tutoring in there. You got to pay to use their career services. You got to pay for some of the departments that are in there. And here at UNLV, you already paid go take advantage of it,
Unknown Speaker 28:58
exactly so for one last time. So if a student wanted to get in contact with you, how would they do that?
Unknown Speaker 29:04
They are more than welcome to reach out to me. To my email. It is Isabelle, and that's spelled i, s, A, B, E, L, dot, H, E R R E R, A, P, E, D, R o@unlv.edu,
Unknown Speaker 29:17
great, great. Thank you so very much, Isabelle. It's been a pleasure having you here for this segment. Thank
Unknown Speaker 29:22
you, Dr scales, I appreciate you too. It's
Unknown Speaker 29:24
definitely informative. I'm sure students will definitely be able to take something away from this conversation that we just had. So looking forward to it, and I'm sure we'll have you back in the future, future, soon.
Unknown Speaker 29:35
Thank you, Dr scales, appreciate you very much.
Unknown Speaker 29:37
You are very welcome, and that's a wrap. You.
Dr. Renee Watson 29:43
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai