When Maria Palapa Vargas went back to school to earn her master's degree in public health, she didn’t anticipate finding a program that would let her work directly with the people in the community where she grew up.

As a graduate assistant for the Early Responsive Nurturing Care for Food Security (EARN-FS) team, housed under the UNLV School of Public Health, Palapa Vargas works to help food-insecure families navigate maternal-child health resources.

A mother herself, Palapa Vargas said her work puts families living in historically marginalized communities at the heart of research, allowing her to better understand community needs and raise awareness about the resources available to them.

That includes helping them improve food security at home, build confidence in seeking out community resources, and improve their lactation goals for their infants.

For the last year, Palapa Vargas has worked on a Nurturing Care Family Navigator (NCFN) pilot study, which will promote equitable care for families living in Las Vegas’ Historic Westside in need of nutrition and health resources to help improve their food security at home, their lactation goals for their infants, and their knowledge and confidence in seeking resources for themselves.

With support from UNLV, the School of Public Health, and the UNLV Pediatric Clinic, Palapa Vargas said her work was an example of leveraging different networks to support and address the food insecurity and breastfeeding needs in the community. 

“Patients and the community will learn the impact that the university can bring to help address community needs,” Palapa Vargas said of her work. “Ultimately, these projects have played a role in acquiring funding to address issues such as food insecurity, breastfeeding, and nutrition among Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable zip codes.”

Palapa Vargas has been awarded UNLV’s 2025 Community Engagement Student Service Award, which is given annually to a student who has had a positive impact in the Southern Nevada community by volunteering their time and talent to address a community need. Palapa Vargas will receive a monetary award of $1,000, and be recognized at this year’s Campus Awards Ceremony.

Gabriela Buccini, assistant professor in the School of Public Health who leads the EARN-FS team, said Palapa Vargas’ leadership extends beyond research; her commitment to equity and ability to create meaningful community-based initiatives made her highly deserving of the recognition.

“Maria consistently seeks opportunities to contribute, share perspectives, and propose innovative ideas,” Buccini said. “She is an outstanding candidate for the Student Service Award and possesses the qualities and potential to make a lasting impact on our community.”

How her work is making a difference

To prepare for the Nurturing Care Family Navigator study, Palapa Vargas created a resource database consisting of health, food, state benefits, lactation, maternal-child supplies, mental health, and provider resources. 

This allowed her to connect with community organizations, educate them about the program, and enroll them as a supportive resource for Valley families.

One of those organizations was the Southern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition, for whom Palapa Vargas served as a Community Outreach board member from 2023-24. 

She distributed resource lists to local hospitals, where lactation consultants would subsequently share materials with mothers and families. Her distribution also reached community centers, libraries, and local workshop events.

Today, Palapa Vargas continues her involvement with the coalition as the educational planner responsible for coordinating breastfeeding education.

She created a monthly newsletter that reaches over 570 members and partners in Southern Nevada and educates them on community news and lactation tips. She serves as the educational planner for the organization and coordinates breastfeeding education for the board, members and any community members attending their events.

Palapa Vargas said her connections allowed her to understand the resources and efforts needed to help families in specific zip codes and her work was essential in maintaining accurate, diverse and cultural material available for the community. 

Rikki Jenkins, president of the Southern Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition, said Palapa Vargas has continuously carried on the mission of the coalition, and that her eagerness and interest in serving Southern Nevada with lactation support exemplified her commitment as a volunteer, board member, student, and mother.

“Her community engagement efforts push forward UNLV’s core value to foster community partnerships and leverage the resources that not only benefit community members, but also students and the UNLV community,” Jenkins said. “By promoting UNLV's Lactation HUB scholarship [a UNLV scholarship program to develop the next generation of the lactation workforce] and addressing lactation needs in Southern Nevada’s most needed zip codes, she is demonstrating the importance of community-based research, collaboration, and engagement.”