Spring 2015 graduates at UNLV, CSN highlight diversity

Diversity will take center stage as thousands of UNLV and College of Southern Nevada students accept their degrees or certificates during upcoming commencement ceremonies.

The spring graduation is CSN’s first since the U.S. Department of Education recognized it as the state’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, a designation the college earned in February for having a student enrollment that’s at least a quarter Hispanic.

UNLV’s Hispanic enrollment also topped 25 percent for the first time this semester. It now also meets the regulatory definition of Hispanic-Serving Institution and will pursue the designation — and the opportunity to pursue the federal grant money that comes with it.

About 22 percent, or 724 students, of CSN’s current graduating class identify as Hispanic. About 57 percent of the entire class of 3,326 students eligible to receive a degree or certificate — a record number for CSN — fall into one or more ethnic groups.

One of those soon-to-be graduates, 26-year-old Karin Rodriguez, laughed when asked whether he had considered applying for law school when he finished high school in 2007.

“Honestly, if you asked me to apply for any grad school, I would’ve thought you were crazy,” Rodriguez said. “Now, I’ve broadened my perspective (and) have to serve a good example for my daughter.

“One time, I noticed she mimicked my behavior as I read a book and tried to do the same thing,” he added. “She helped me decide not to quit again, to be persistent.”

Rodriguez previously dropped out of CSN after his course load proved overwhelming. But he returned in 2012, received financial aid, pestered his academic advisers and on Monday will accept an associate degree in general studies.

After interning with the U.S. Department of Labor this summer, Rodriguez plans to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and ultimately enroll in its Boyd School of Law.

“My parents couldn’t be prouder,” he said. “My dad’s one out of nine (kids), so most of my cousins dropped out or are in prison. Everyone’s like, ‘We got one good one!’”

Like Rodriguez, Jessica Recarey, 22, is the first of her family to earn a college degree.

Recarey, a political science and sociology major at UNLV, will give the commencement speech on Saturday and plans to focus on how the student body’s diversity impacted her education.

Nearly half, or 48 percent, of the 2,721 students accepting a degree or certificate from UNLV identify as a minority.

“Just to sit next to someone different in a classroom, that changes the conversation,” Recarey said. “You can read as much as you want in a textbook.

“But that’s nothing when you hear someone use their own voice to explain what it’s like to live an experience so different from your own.”

Recarey said she expects to tap into her own Cuban-American background when she starts teaching math in a local classroom as part of Teach for America, a non-profit organization which places college graduates into needy schools for two years. One day, she hopes to work on education policy reform.

“I won’t be able to speak to public policy if I’m never in the classroom,” Recarey said. “Plus, I think my own experiences will help me relate to the kids,” she added. “I can tell them they can do it, because I did.”