No future Rebel too small. That's the idea driving the work led by Devan Harris. 

For the past three years, Harris, the early outreach coordinator in undergraduate admissions, has helped teach future students and their families about how and why to start planning for higher education from an early age. With workshops and camps for students from elementary through high school, Harris and her team are helping put the "LV" — Las Vegans — in "UNLV." 

She’s also a member of the UNLV Community Engagement Council, a program organized by the office of community engagement to connect individuals in colleges/units with each other and with external partners to share ideas and explore joint projects. 

Role at UNLV

My primary responsibility is to extend UNLV’s ability to “Raise Rebels” and promote college access through elementary, middle, and early high school programming. I also ensure students and families understand the importance of planning early for college by building a strong academic and character foundation during their school years. In addition, I serve as a liaison between the office of admissions, UNLV campus partners, and community members and organizations outside of the university to expand the college-going pipeline in our valley. 

How does your work impact the university, students, and community partners? 

A large part of our work consists of implementing our menu of services, which includes a variety of early college awareness and readiness presentations. 

Pre-pandemic, these were offered as in-person workshops. For the time being, we have transitioned to virtual visits and have provided services to more than 4,500 students and families. We also work with our campus visits team to coordinate age-appropriate campus visit experiences for more than 4,000 students each year. During the summer, we offer and participate in multiple college and career readiness camps open to students in the community. 

Year-round, we partner with various organizations to coordinate large-scale events hosted on campus for K-10 students and families. 

What does “community” mean to you? 

I studied abroad and served as a volunteer teacher in South Africa. While living there, my understanding of what “community” means was deepened. Ubuntu is an African philosophy and form of humanism expressed in the English phrase, “I am because of who we all are.” Former President Obama described it well: “Ubuntu recognizes that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.”

What do you find personally rewarding about working in the community? 

One of the most rewarding aspects of working in the community is the opportunity to help people move from where they are to higher levels of understanding and development. As a former classroom teacher, I would like to believe I have a gift for recognizing the talents, strengths, and potential in others that they often cannot see in themselves. As early outreach coordinator, I am energized and determined to encourage students and families in our community to move, grow, and develop to higher levels of personal effectiveness. This career also makes my “teacher heart” happy, because I get to provide programming and services that support the work K-12 educators, counselors, administrators, and support staff do daily in our schools. 

During your work in the community, was there a specific moment that inspired you? 

One of the benefits of working with young students and families is that you can’t help but be continually inspired — whether it’s a classroom visit when children first learn that UNLV is more than an athletic team, or the looks on students’ faces during a campus visit where they have the opportunity to picture themselves as future Rebels. I am also inspired by the genuine connections that are made between UNLV student volunteers, staff, and the students who participate in our programming. As a young person, the opportunity to engage with college students who look like, sound like, and may share a similar background as you is invaluable. 

How has your service on the Community Engagement Council benefited your work? 

I always enjoy learning about or stumbling upon UNLV programming, events, and summer camps serving the same population we do. I have been able to pursue new partnerships with organizations we are introduced to during council meetings like Boys Town Nevada, Communities In Schools, Discovery Children’s Museum, and Junior Achievement.

Additionally, early outreach is partnering with the office of community engagement on a neighborhood initiative to provide both early outreach services and additional on-campus resources to neighboring elementary and middle schools. 

Also, my service on the UNLV Community Engagement Council is important because part of UNLV’s top tier mission is to engage more deeply with the community’s diverse needs and interests.

If you could wave a magic wand and fix one community issue, what would it be and why? 

Many students and families I work with are affected by generational poverty. In these families, college and career expectations may not be discussed as often, if at all, which is why our work in the community is so important. Because generational poverty often creates a poverty mentality, our programming also addresses mindset and provides students with practical ways to develop and cultivate a growth mindset. UNLV early outreach is committed to helping students and families envision and experience success both now and in the future.