A champion of environmental and societal change. A dedicated educator. An active-duty service member, deeply involved with the community. A “powerhouse” in the field of hospitality. A music icon in the making, with a spellbinding voice. And an astronomer tackling the biggest questions in the universe.
These are just six of the 3,800 stories of students that will be walking across the stage during commencement, culminating in degrees that will help them secure success on the road ahead.
Spring 2024’s graduates come from 44 states and 50 countries. Nearly 90% of them are Nevada residents. They range in age from 19 to 73, with 66% coming from ethnically diverse backgrounds. And they are all Rebels.
For more than two decades, it’s been UNLV tradition for the president to honor a handful of exceptional students who represent the academic, research, and community impact of the graduating class.
Since 1964, the university has awarded 176,442 degrees. And the following are some of the most outstanding UNLV graduates yet:
Zachary Billot
B.A. in Political Science; Minor in Brookings Public Policy & Certificate in Great Works of Literature and Philosophy (Honors)
Zachary Billot’s lengthy resume is a testament to his tireless advocacy for the environment, public health, social justice, the LGBTQ community, student success, and more.
Shortly after arriving at UNLV, Zach — dismayed over the global climate crisis — embarked on a crusade to do something about it. He became a key member of UNLV’s Sustainability Task Force and one of the driving forces behind the university’s recently introduced Climate Action Plan.
And he didn’t stop there.
Zach has served as chair of the College of Liberal Arts’s student success committee; vice president of the Model United Nations; vice president for UNLV’s Honors Student Council; local chapter president or vice president of several national honors fraternities; and in student government. He’s founder and chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus of Young Democrats Nevada and a member of Clark County’s Juvenile Justice Services Citizens Advisory Committee. The Honors College student is also an accomplished violinist for UNLV’s Symphony Orchestra.
As a research assistant for Brookings Mountain West and The Lincy Institute, Zach has written policy papers on mental health services, school discipline, and a host of environmental topics like air quality, farmland, and wildfires. He’s taken his talents to the state, national, and global levels as well — interning for the Nevada Court Appointed Special Advocates, Las Vegas Councilman Brian Knudsen, and the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Central African Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Zach’s outstanding academic performance, public service leadership, and environmentalism efforts led him to become the first UNLV undergraduate to earn both the Truman Scholarship and Udall Foundation Scholarship – two of the nation’s most competitive awards for undergraduates – in the same year. He’s among only four students ever from UNLV named a Rhodes Scholar finalist. And he’s won a slew of other awards and accolades.
And he did it all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Zach graduates with a bachelor’s in political science, and with a minor in Brookings Public Policy and a certificate in Great Works of Literature and Philosophy.
Safiyya Bintali
B.S. in Secondary Education & B.A. in English (Honors)
Living by a motto of ‘never stop learning,’ Safiyya Bintali is overflowing with both heart and commitment. She is a second-generation Muslim-American, UNLV employee, and author who continues to overcome the odds with a smile on her face. One of her instructors described her as a kind-hearted person who “knows how to bring the sunshine on any cloudy day.”
Impressively budgeting a 20-hour workweek with being a 24/7 student, Bintali served as vice president of Rebel Educators, managing editor for Beyond Thought Creative Arts Journal, and was also selected as a Nevada Educator Preparation Institute Collaborative Research Fellow.
During this experience, she presented at national conferences, submitted manuscripts, and has enhanced her knowledge as a teacher researcher. Her desire to enrich and enliven the field of education went even further by mentoring CCSD students through a teaching practicum at Silverado High School.
Her list of accomplishments reads like a telephone book, with some of the most notable being the winner of the Joyce Woodhouse Award for dedication to improving education in Nevada, the Lance and Elena Calvert Award for Undergraduate Research, the 2023 Pioneer Award from the Phi Kappa Phi honor society, and earned the EDUCAUSE Professional Pipeline scholarship.
Bintali is graduating Summa Cum Laude as a member of the Honors College and plans to pursue her master's degree in English, all while continuing work with UNLV IT in Instructional Technology Services.
Meagan Evans
Master of Social Work
Meagan Evans’ college career has been dedicated to building and fostering community.
Meagan's dedication to both her academic pursuits and her service to the community is truly commendable. Balancing the demands of a master's degree program with the responsibilities of being an active member of the Nevada Army National Guard requires exceptional time management and commitment. It's inspiring to see how she has not only excelled academically but also found ways to make a positive impact both on campus and in the broader Las Vegas community.
While pursuing her degree, Meagan served as a family service specialist for Clark County, where she processed intake reports for abuse and neglect cases. As part of the Masters of Social Work program, she worked with and learned from the local District Attorney’s Office in the Family Support Division and the local Department of Veteran Affairs providing supportive services to clients in need in a variety of settings. She also had the opportunity to develop and hone her writing and technical research skills as a student researcher with UNLV’s Baby & Child Rebel Lab.
Meagan did not stop short of focusing on school work, her internships, and her duties for the National Guard; she also threw herself into the Graduate & Professional Student Association as director of engagement and outreach. Meagan organized social and wellness events focusing on increased student participation, bolstering recurring events by over 200 percent. Through her leadership, GPSA was able to host its first wetlands cleanup event, and she was also a pivotal member in helping run the Graduate Appreciation Nights at UNLV athletic events.
Meagan became known among her peers in the College of Urban Affairs as a dedicated advocate, hosting feedback sessions for social work students and engaging with two social work clubs on campus.
Following graduation, Megan will pursue career opportunities in her position as an active duty member of the United States Army.
Hieu Nguyen
B.S. in Hospitality Management
Hieu Nguyen is the personification of UNLV’s well-established reputation as the world’s best for hospitality management.
Graduating cum laude with a degree in hospitality management, Hieu has embraced his time at UNLV and Las Vegas and has become an outstanding scholar and a dynamic and creative leader with a relentless passion for his peers and the field of hospitality.
According to one nominator, “Hieu is an absolute powerhouse – unrelenting in his pursuit of knowledge, experience, and wisdom, and with a passion to learn and give back. He’s grown to become one of the College of Hospitality’s most dedicated ambassadors.”
In 2022, Hieu founded Books, Beverages, and Bites, a hospitality experiential learning club for all majors and those interested in hospitality. The club has served hundreds of members, and Hieu has worked with the team to create the first hospitality-focused student journal, The Pineapple, which will be published later this summer.
Over the years, Hieu mentored more than 100 students and has participated in nearly 20 conferences and 50 professional events. He is a lifelong learner who joined more than 10 student organizations, including service as the university’s International Student Global Ambassador, CSUN Senator, and as vice president of UNLV’s chapter of the American Marketing Association.
He won 16 business, marketing, and hospitality competitions, and has been awarded UNLV Outstanding Peer Mentor, Hospitality Mentee of the Year, and was inducted into the UNLV Hall of Fame as an Outstanding Student Leader. With all these achievements, rarely a day goes by without him writing LinkedIn articles to offer UNLV and industry resources and personal development tips.
Following graduation, Hieu and his peers will start a podcast and launch a global hospitality project, called Charming Hospitality, to connect Rebel alumni and hospitality professionals worldwide through book discussions and conversations on industry trends and issues.
Christian Shelton
B.A. in Music (Vocal)
This Las Vegas local did not need American Idol to make a name for himself. He didn’t need The Voice to get noticed by Grammy Award-winners such as Lizzo and Sam Smith. All Christian Shelton needed were his pipes and a platform.
On top of that, Shelton’s warm-hearted demeanor and uplifting humility serve as the ideal demeanor and aura of an Outstanding Graduate. Instructors have likened Shelton to Luther Vandross and Luciano Pavarotti because of his powerful voice that draws the emotion out of audiences. Academic accomplishments include earning the Dr. Tomas E. Wilson Outstanding Scholarship, and Community Service Award from UNLV’s Alliance of Professionals and African American Heritage.
Additionally, Shelton took home the gold in several competitive victories, including the National Classical Singer Competition in the Classical University Division in 2023. He’s built a following on social media platforms, becoming one of TikTok’s Inaugural Black Trailblazers. He attracted national attention, going on to record vocals for a Super Bowl commercial in 2021.
Next for Shelton is continuing his unwavering commitment to musical excellence by performing with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Austria, and he will return to UNLV in pursuit of his master’s degree.
Shangjia Zhang
Ph.D. in Astronomy
Though many of us have glanced up at the stars at night and wondered how they got there, few have actually followed through on it.
Shangjia Zhang is one of those few, and he’s become a rising star in the field of astrophysics.
Shangjia’s research tackles some of the biggest questions in our universe – namely how our solar system was formed and how distant planetary systems emerge. He does this in part by observing and modeling protoplanetary disks, which are belts of gas and dust which act essentially as cradles for newly formed planets.
His work thus far has resulted in 26 published research papers, including eight in which he’s the first author. He’s also been the recipient of a number of firsts for UNLV: Shangjia is the first student from UNLV to earn NASA’s highly competitive Future Investigators in Earth and Space Science Technology grant; and he was the first selected for the NASA Hubble Fellowship – the agency’s most prestigious award for astronomy graduates to carry out postdoctoral research.
Shanjia’s passion for his field extends beyond the lab, as he’s dedicated countless hours to helping local students and the general public access and understand the principles of astronomy. He’s the co-founder of Astronomy on Tap, a series of outreach events for the general public. As an ambassador for the American Astronomical Society, he regularly organizes and participates in student-focused mentorship activities, including working with high school students competing in the Astronomy Olympiad and serving as a judge in the annual Beal Bank USA Southern Nevada Science and Engineering Fair.
For his dedication to both research and community engagement, Shangjia was the first student from the physics and astronomy department to earn the UNLV Barrick Graduate Fellowship.
