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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 k u and v 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
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Let's Talk UNLV K, u and v 91.5. I'm here with my co host, Dr. Sami scales. And I am Dr. Tanya crab. And welcome, welcome. Welcome, welcome. Thank you very much. We have a special guest today. From here on campus, we have Suzy Smith, who's the Director of Diversity Initiatives. And we also have Otis Henderson today. So we're very excited and happy that you guys join us here on the on the podcast, and we're gonna just have a casual conversation. Thank you for having us. Yeah. All it is. Let's start. We'll start with Otis Otis, can you tell us about your journey? How did you end up here at UNLV? Oh, do you want the long version of the short version, I'll try and give you the Cliff Notes. Since we're all accustomed to that at some point in our lifetime.
Unknown Speaker 1:09
prior military service was in the army for
Unknown Speaker 1:13
a net enough time to retire with a pension. Came back here to school because you're never too cool for school came back here to UNLV studied Hospitality Management started working at the Thomas and Mack from there moved over to diversity initiatives. And I found it to be a a very pleasurable job. There is a there's a lot of work to be done in diversity, equity and inclusion. That's, that's been ongoing. Since you know, you could one could argue since the 50s, and 60s. So it's good to see how far we've come. But obviously, with the current events going on, we've got a long way to go. Absolutely. Well said very well said, Oh, and others, thank you for your service and your sacrifice absolutely much appreciate I wanted to put that out there. And lovely, lovely Suzy Smith. So my name is Suzy Smith. I'm Director of Corporate and community relations. Prior to that I was director of development, which was the fundraising arm for diversity initiatives. And I still kind of do that. But now, in my current role, I fundraise a little bit on the side. But my bigger focus is supporting our students and our staff in our community partnerships, and of course, bringing opportunities to campus for our staff, our students and our faculty. Can I Can I ask? Just a follow up questions, please. So how did you get here?
Unknown Speaker 2:36
Like when we're talking origin stories? How did you end up at UNLV of all places? Well, I can be long winded. So please cut me off when you're when you need to. But I started here 30 years ago, I was in my early 20s. And I got a phone call who from someone who was a family friend, and at the time was the director of human resources and said, Hey, Susie, we have this opportunity at UNLV. And I thought about you Would you be interested in applying for this job. And it was a position in the admissions office. And that was 30 years ago. So that's how I got here. And I've worn many hats over the 30 years. And I'm very excited to be where I am today and diversity initiatives. Wow. Excellent. Excellent. So let's start with some questions. Dr. Crab, would you like to start out with questions for them? Why not?
Unknown Speaker 3:25
So let's talk about this term diversity, you know, what is your definition of diversity within the context of our institution? And how does this definition guide us to 2.2 part questions? Let's start with how do you define diversity in the context of the work you do here? Okay. Well, it's a great question, because defining it in the context of the university 30 years ago, when I was here, when I first landed here, diversity was very different. As a matter of fact, there wasn't a word diversity in the context of what we do. It was an affirmative action. And in 1993, our board of regents approved the creation of the affirmative action office. And John Luhan, was hired as the director at that time. And shortly after his hire, a young lady who was an African American alum, was hired and she's the one that wrote the very first
Unknown Speaker 4:20
plan, affirmative action plan. And that was very different from what we see now, that plan with the university's intention was to support education and workplace opportunities for minorities. But as we know today, that's very different. So we support so many different communities now, that includes first generation LGBTQ,
Unknown Speaker 4:46
where's my notes, LGBTQ different religious backgrounds?
Unknown Speaker 4:51
What am I missing Otis, first generation, there's just so many different communities that we support in diversity now. You
Unknown Speaker 5:00
Oh, that's a good question. Oh, it is oh, so what services do your department offer? No, you work over there with ya and Jose as well. And you kind of work closely with SDP. Because I do see you in some of our meetings as well. So what services do your office we do, and we try and plug in with STP as much as possible.
Unknown Speaker 5:20
Our illustrious President commented not too long ago that we should seek to collaborate with as many organizations as possible on campus. And that's our mandate. And that's what we strive to do. So in doing that, you know, obviously, we provide some services to the students themselves in the form scholarships, for example, utilizing the intersection, which is one of the arms of diversity initiatives and providing those emergency funds to those students that may need them in a, in a time of crisis. I think the pandemic showed that we we all are one step away from a crisis of anything that our office can provide to its students in those times is greatly appreciated not only by the students, but also by the parents who who sometimes send their their kids across the country to go to school and a Nolan sometimes they're off by themselves and, and the services that we provided and resources that we have on campus.
Unknown Speaker 6:20
Act as you know, the surrogate mom and dad and providing them with what they need to, to live a livable life, while at the same time going to school. And we all know how hard that is to get an education. Absolutely fantastic. Fantastic. Now, I have to say that I'm familiar with a couple of those things. I'm familiar with the students diversity program, because well, I hung out there a lot, because they have chips. And also, it's just a cool place to be. And it's a cool place to meet the students. And it's wonderful to see the different activities that happen there. I'm also familiar with the intersection through their first generation program, as well as the help that they do with, um, students with around immigration in places like that. So I'm really glad that you are here. And as you mentioned, you know, this being
Unknown Speaker 7:04
making it more of a home situation for students, you know, I was wondering, and I'm going completely off script,
Unknown Speaker 7:11
I was wondering if you could share some of the feedback that you've received for students around the programs that exist on campus for them? Well, you know, I think when you look at wanting feedback, and what are those key metrics that leadership should look at, to whether or not a program on campus is successful? I think that number one would be retention, are your students coming back to school? You know, in that, and that speaks to the type of environment that campus is creating, for our for our young students. So when you ask the question, I say, retention, that speaks volumes, if they're coming back,
Unknown Speaker 7:51
they want to come back not because they have to come back, because at the end of the day, they're spending either their money or they're taking out significant loans, to to want to help and, you know, surveys help with with defining where that need is most needed. But I think talking to the students, and just seeing them come back and seeing the participation
Unknown Speaker 8:14
with the student organizations, when they show up, you know, oftentimes some of the events that take place on campus happen, you know, 637 o'clock at night, and to see students that late at night, wanting to participate, it speaks to, they want that feeling of belonging. And are they feeling that? Again, you look at the retention rate? Absolutely, I definitely agree that surveys is a great way of tracking whether or not your program is working. But just like you say, and being at those programs late in the evening with those students, they have a tendency to come up to you, especially when they see you over and over and over at different events, and actually, will really tell you exactly what they're thinking I had that happen during
Unknown Speaker 8:59
Persian New Year, I think was last week when we were there. So I had a male student that sat with me and really told me how he felt about the campus, about how he feel about his classes, his sense of belonging here on the campus. So those are all great metrics of taking a look at whether or not and assessing whether or not your programs are working. So Excellent. Excellent. You know, it's funny that you mentioned that because I have similar experiences, like whenever I've showed up one of your events, I also my metrics is also hugs, because students will see other students across campus but they'll also see the participants are the people who hold these spaces and use their hope their whole being lights up. They light up because they feel a sense of connection. They feel like they're being seen, they feel like they're being understood. And I love that you've talked about how much diversity in terms of what's covered its race, ethnicity, its gender, its ability, its its educational level, its type, so I really like that. So can you give us some
Unknown Speaker 10:00
example of some programs or initiatives that you have had that have impacted the college campuses diversity and inclusion? Well, I can share with you recently, we just embarked upon a partnership with a couple of corporations in our community. And through those partnerships, we have been able to secure paid internships for our students, and a diverse students. And, of course, one of our main goals is going after corporations that have a diversity mission, because that's so critical.
Unknown Speaker 10:34
And when we meet with the with the corporations and talk about the need for the paid internships, and I emphasize paid internships,
Unknown Speaker 10:43
yes, the money is it's what's important to those students. And also what's important is for them to not show up at a job site and just become like a file clerk or someone who's there shredding papers, we want them to get real world experience. And that's what they get, at least with these two companies that we've partnered with so far. So they've gotten paid internship, real world experience, we've also made sure that they got adequate training, interview training, knowing what to say and how to answer questions, knowing how to appear at an interview, and you know, you weren't, you dress for the job you want, not the one you have is what I always said. So those types of internships are very important, very key. And now we're working with an additional Corporation, where we're talking about global paid internships, and these internships that I'm speaking about their their starting wages are $25 an hour for students who are, you know, earning a living wage and also true, gaining true real world experiences. So those are important, that's excellent, because it seemed like you're working with the student from start to finish. And when I say from start, I mean, sitting them down and going through a mock interview with them. So they can know potential questions that may pop up during these things, and also, proper attire when they're going into these interviews. So I think that's great. Your unpaid internships, you know, this definitely will get your attention, absolutely internship. So that means money, and then it to speak further on that. We one of the corporations that we just finished an internship round, and we're embarking on renewing that contract with them out of the I want to say 80 students that that were hired, or sorry, that were selected for this paid internship program, they hired on a permanent basis on a permanent permanent level and positions 70% of that workforce that were our students there. So that's what I call success. And we hope to do much more better in the future. Definitely than Yes, yes, absolutely. I heard so many things there. I heard leveling the playing field, you know, providing the same opportunities and access as everyone else. Absolutely. I think that's the thing that's sometimes missed in these programs is that people are coming from different experiences don't have the same level of access or experience. But they're going into the same. They're going to say Marina as people who've prepped for this their whole life. So I love that it's an all encompassing program that you run, where not only are we sending you to detail, but we're actually preparing you for that, absolutely. So that you have a chance to success. And there's an opportunity for this to be something bigger than just the one off. So yeah, that's really exciting. And as you were talking, I'm like, Should I text my child
Unknown Speaker 13:29
or have your child give us a call. But you know, when I'm when I'm when I'm talking to these corporations first, when I reach out to them, I make sure that they do have a diversity, mission and mission. And then I think about myself when I was a college student here, I'm first generation. And I didn't know what I didn't know, of course, now I do realize a lot of the things that I didn't know. And so I think with that mindset, you know, when I'm helping the first generation students are, you know, other students that need these opportunities that wouldn't generally have these opportunities put in front of them because of their different backgrounds. And so that's just important. And I think it's critical for their future and the future of our the growth of our community. And, and I also love that you're not paying them chump change me
Unknown Speaker 14:15
that that spoke to me a lot of times because oftentimes, you get these opportunities, but you're undervalued, yes. Or you're under utilized, or you're under resource. So I love that. You're looking to make them better professionals in the future by starting the standards higher rather than lower. So because if you think about it, it's one of these kids, two of these kids, all of these kids may be our future leaders, so we need to train them and prepare them in the best way possible. Absolutely. I think it's very important to have high expectation because no one's gonna rise to low expectation. There's no rise there. So you know, when you said earlier, you don't know what you don't know. That was one of the reasons why I didn't go into college right after high school because I didn't know about financial aid. I'm first generation as well. So it took me some time to get there but I got I'm with you on
Unknown Speaker 15:00
Matt I first generation and I wasn't a traditional student, I took my very first college class at the age of 25. And I worked here at the university. And I still didn't know what I didn't know. And if it weren't for connections and people that I knew on campus, I have no idea how high I would have how I would have gotten through that journey. Yeah, I sat in my first class at 42
Unknown Speaker 15:23
years old, I was almost as old as my instructor. So
Unknown Speaker 15:28
once I got going, I was on a roll. And I just went all the way through Absolutely, gradually, I
Unknown Speaker 15:35
don't know what you don't know. So it's good to talk to students, no matter where I see them at on campus off campus, about college since I moved here, December 27 of last year, but I did find out what Dillard said, so I've been going to Dallas to shop. But there's a young man that work in women's shoes there. And I see him often when I go and so I always go over to him and say it's his name owl. I don't remember his name. No, it's not.
Unknown Speaker 16:01
But I didn't talk to him and tell him this young man, this can't be your life. And you can't support a family with, you know, two or three kids working here. So you have got to get in college. So I talked to him about going to college. And so now he's telling you no, of course he told me when he sent me. I have enrolled, I've enrolled at community college. So he's supposed to start there. I think this at the summer or fall one or two. But I talked to students about college because Absolutely, there's an opportunity for them to go. And you when you have the opportunity to talk about college to the strangers that you'd never think about. And I'll share it share a quick story with you. I was at a place called famous Dave's. It's a barbecue restaurant here in town. And I was picking up dinner that night. No, I wasn't cooking. So I was picking up. And I met the young man who came out to hand me my bags. And we and he saw that I had on a shirt that said UNLV. And he says, Hey, are you a professor there? Do you teach there? And you know, I told him what I do. And then I asked him, do you know about UNLV? When he says I'm a student at UNLV. And it's exciting to hear about scholarship opportunities. Can I can I reach out to you and can you help me? I asked him Absolutely. Tell me what you're majoring in. And I asked him a bunch of questions about himself and how he landed here in Vegas. Well, he came from Washington by himself, he saved up money came here by himself drove in his car. And his car is where he was living at the time. And I told him, You need to call me right away because I need to get help to you so that we can get you to college through college. And of course get you a roof over your head. And he's now finished college and is working in one of the hotels. And I've mentored him through that time. And it just it those types of stories just does the heart good. Yeah, absolutely. I love those. Those kinds of sores. Let me let me ask both of you this question for both of you. If money was not an issue with the departments that you're working in now, what would you like to see happen, not just here on campus with UNLV but in the community as a whole if money was no issue, you had all of the money that you needed to get your hands on? What would happen in the realm of diversity for you?
Unknown Speaker 18:09
I would say that hunger would go away, there would be no unfed mouths. And everyone who wanted a degree in a college education would get just that and then some absolutely great, great bonus. I would say to him it goes along the lines of equaling the Plainfield is free tutoring wherever you live in if you're in the dorm. There's tutors, regardless of your major that are at their at the dorm because part of it, you know, you want to look at the retention, why are people staying in school? Can you stay in school? Do you have the greatest day in school?
Unknown Speaker 18:47
Aside from all that, do you have the skills to even get to school? And where are you competent at what are you lacking in in what we find what I've seen, you know, anecdotally, at the very least is some groups are unprepared for college. And how do we get them to that level? So if nothing if money was no object, how do we create that atmosphere to get people just on level playing field?
Unknown Speaker 19:18
And in part of that, speaking of internships, you know, we talked about paid internships? Well, how about those unpaid internships that still do really well in the in the world, people will still look at those as being significant. But people who are struggling to get through school can't take those internships, because they have to take the paid internships. So in a perfect world, even those, even those hard to get unpaid internships, make them paid, at least if the company hasn't paid for it, the school would pay for it, or some type of fund would pay for it so that they can take that so they can take that other experience outside of being forced to take some
Unknown Speaker 20:00
Okay,
Unknown Speaker 20:01
you know, maybe I might get in a little bit of hot water for this, but why are we not paying people for work for us? Like, that's the thing that I, you know, coming through my own program, you know, the fact of the matter is I'm contributing to the well being of the organization, I am causing your capital arise. So why aren't we paying them? Why are we giving them a stipend? Why aren't we appreciating the value that they bring, I understand that certain situations and certain circumstances they want. But to your point, it's a real disadvantage in terms of talent pool, because you're leaving out some of the talent pool, that would, you're leaving us with a talent pool, that would inevitably bring even more to the company, but they cannot apply. Because financially, it's just not feasible for them. So I am, let's try and make internships paid, because you're getting value from most students. You know, I think that's probably a conversation for another day, we you're asking companies to go against the grain of what they're used to doing, you know, and if you want to go down that route, it could come down to budget as their budget for a company to start paying unpaid internships. If and now I'm sitting in the company, and I'm trying to, to make our stockbrokers money or our stockholders money, I would say, keep it unpaid. And if they keep coming, we'll keep it, we'll keep doing it. That's why I mean, by starting trouble,
Unknown Speaker 21:27
because you're gaining revenue from these people, you know, oftentimes, you're increasing your revenue base, they're making it possible for you to serve more clientele, so you are making more money. So But anyway, that's where that's a hill for another day. It is hot water, you know, you get into the the short term profits over or over long term profits. And yeah, choose your poison. I understand that. So if someone wanted to actually contact your office or find out where your office, yeah, well, how would they contact your office? So they can either come by the sixth floor 607, room 6607 in the diversity office, or they can give us a call? odus What's our main number? 702895?
Unknown Speaker 22:10
Sorry, we don't call ourselves very often.
Unknown Speaker 22:13
8955580 or they can email us at our general email account, which is diversity. works@unlv.edu Okay, fantastic. And you're in that same office, Otis? Yes, indeed. Okay, fantastic. Sounds good. So in closing, what the parting words would you have for our listeners? In closing? That's a good question. That's why I always think it's a good question. Actually, I stole it from Dr. Krauss.
Unknown Speaker 22:45
I would say in closing, diversity, equity and inclusion, that type of work is still needed.
Unknown Speaker 22:54
It's critical. It's critical, not only to retain our student population, but to also grow our faculty as well. And until those until that equality is reached, work still needs to be done. Yes. And there was a student that I met one day, and I asked him the question, why did you choose you want to be and he said, because it's the only school that I went on a visit to. And I met a professor that looked like me. So we need to increase those numbers for of professors, and our students and diversity. Well, that was a comment that was made in that was made inside of the this MSI summit on yesterday, increasing the faculty so that we have professors that reflect our students. Yes. So it's so important. Yeah. So yeah. It's always nice to have a professor standing before you that look like you, you know, and of course, maybe not in every class, but at least one or two out of the six or seven classes, you're going to absolutely yeah. So I want to share a short story on how I became I decide to go for my doctorate. When I was working at Fresno State. I was walking through the campus, and I saw an afro, it was an amazing afro, it was big, it was beautiful as glowing. And when I follow the afro, because I was like, where who does that belong to? And I sat down, I met this woman. Her name is Dr. Manuel Niles. And that was the first time I've met a black woman doctor. She wasn't she was a doctor of communications. And I was like, Wait, we do that. Like, that's the thing we do. That's the thing we can. And honestly, that was the spark. That lit for me that said that this is possible for me, not just because she was a doctor, and not just because she was a black doctor. She's a black doctor with natural hair, living her best block. That's her life. And I was like, wow. So I can identify a lot with the you can't be what you've not seen. You know, it hadn't occurred to me that that was a path I could take until I saw her and I was like, Wait a minute. Okay. That's a great story. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 24:55
So with that being said, I think this is bringing us to the end of
Unknown Speaker 25:00
The Show? Well, we have a couple of minutes left. Well, it's according to our interpret producer.
Unknown Speaker 25:06
So I want to ask the question for the both of you.
Unknown Speaker 25:10
What led you to be who you are? Like, what was the point of contact? Well, who did you see? Who did you know? Who did you meet? That made you believe that the things that you do are possible?
Unknown Speaker 25:21
Oh, for me, it would be my parents absolutely. 110%
Unknown Speaker 25:25
watching them grow up. But my dad, he taught baseball when I was a kid, so on every team from the age of six to 15, here's either the headquarter was coaching in some form or fashion. And my mom was right along with her being a teen mom, being the scorekeeper or bringing snacks. So it was that family unit that that made me see, or they gave me the drive, you know, I look at my kids in and I see the fire in their belly, it was my parents that gave me the fire in my belly to continue on, after I left the house, and I think that's, that's the important if you've got the fire in your belly, no matter where you get it from, it could be your parents, it could be the guy on the street. But if you've got that fire in your belly, that's gonna be your constant driver. When it's time to wake up at 530 in the morning, and you've got to study or you've got to write a paper, what drives you to get from A to B in it's got to be internal, no one can give it to you, it's got to come from within. Absolutely love it. For me, it was both my parents, but in particular, my Puerto Rican mom, she knew what
Unknown Speaker 26:34
diversity was, before we even understood it. She married an African American male, and that was not okay in their day. And she had the look of what they would perceive to be as a white person. But she knew that her black children would be judged differently. And so she always pushed us to be excellent and to be better than good. And always told us that we could be whatever we want it to be. And it wasn't until about 13 years old, because she kept telling us, you know, you can be whatever you want to be president of the United States. So as a child, people would always ask me, What would you like to be when you grow up? I said, I'm going to be the first female quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Oh, wow. So talk about dreaming big with that love it through my mother and her pushing and supporting? You know, I just love what I do and raising money. It's not difficult. It can be complicated sometimes. But it's not too difficult simply because because of my mother. I don't take no for an answer easily. So Wow. Yeah. That's excellent. That's excellent. And I think I'm the last one left with this question, then.
Unknown Speaker 27:41
I think for me, it was the fact of knowing that while I spoke to my family, once I actually got accepted into my doctorate program, and I spoke to them, and they will saying that, well, you'll be the very first you the very first thing and accept it now go and actually be the first. So it was that notion of being the very first and my family to earn a doctorate.
Unknown Speaker 28:04
And, you know, I always say, it's not just for me, it's for my family as a whole. So this is something for all of us. And it's not just for my family, it's for the community as well. Always think about WB Dubois, when I think about going to college and get into, you know, a higher education. So there's that 10% of us that, you know, is going to lift the race to the next level. And I want it to be a part of that 10% I want to want to do my part, and making sure I go back and help someone else get to this level as well. Because if I can do it, I mean, I'm from Mississippi. So if I can do it in my graduating class, when I graduated in 1986, had 34 students graduated number six out of 34. So if I can do it, I know Absolutely. Any kid listening right now any college student or whomever that's listening right now can do it as well.
Unknown Speaker 28:57
The talented Tim, you know, and this so this is what diversity brings. Yep, this wealth of experience this wealth of understanding this fire in the belly, we get to be the fire starters. And in the words of our university, we are different daring and diverse.
Unknown Speaker 29:13
Well said, well, and I think for us, that is a wrap up. Thank you so much for having us.
Unknown Speaker 29:20
Thank you.
Unknown Speaker 29:23
For more or less talk to UNLV. Be sure to follow us on social media where you can get the latest updates on the show plus great behind the scenes content. We're on Facebook and let's talk about all the podcast Twitter and let's talk UNLV and Instagram and let's talk UNLV
Transcribed by https://otter.ai