Clarissa Estrada was talking shop with her peers in the Entertainment Engineering and Design (EED) Lab at UNLV, in the midst of a productive yet feverishly busy final semester, when she was handed a sticky note.

It contained a pretty ambiguous request to check in with EED co-director Mike Genova when she had the chance.

“I was like ‘Huh, this is a bit unusual,’” she recalled. “Now, looking back, I wish I had the sticky note to keep as a sentimental value.”

Genova’s ask: Did Estrada want to work on a pretty hush-hush project?

She was, at the time, in the throes of completing her Senior Design innovation and a new undertaking for Art Walk, and didn’t really need another project to add to her portfolio. But Genova had a sense that she would be one of several students who would be game for the yet-to-be announced World of Fallout exhibit at the Atomic Museum.

“I was like, no matter what you throw at me, I want to do it,” said Estrada, ‘25 BS EED. “I was so excited because the thing is, at the end of the day, it's like I only have so much time left before I graduate.”

Launching Careers in Entertainment Engineering

The project came from Scott Wade, a UNLV alum and vice chair of the Board of Trustees for the Atomic Museum. The museum needed a “Welcome to New Vegas” sign — inspired by the World of Fallout game and TV show and reminiscent of the iconic welcome sign that greets visitors on Las Vegas Boulevard. And they needed it in a month, give or take. 

“One of the things that Scott reminded me of is that it’s a post-apocalyptic world and that everything had to look distressed. And I assured him that my students can distress anything,” Genova said during a panel discussion at San Diego Comic Con this past summer.

The “Welcome to New Vegas” sign is a central piece of the World of Fallout exhibit that officially debuted last December. Presented in partnership with Fallout publisher Bethesda Softworks and developer Bethesda Game Studios, the new Atomic Museum installation consists of objects associated with the game and the TV series it inspired.

“I saw this as a wonderful win-win opportunity,” Wade said. “Not only is the museum getting a meaningful piece for the new exhibit, but the UNLV students are getting something very unique for their portfolio. They can show what they actually constructed and did.”

After Genova met with Wade in mid-October, he made quick work of assembling a team of eight students who brought the sign — with gashes, rust, and jagged pieces — to life.

“Michael went back to his students with news of our intended partnership and the students were through the roof with excitement as many of them were Fallout fans,” said Wade. “And they wanted to contribute to this incredibly interesting genre.”

For Estrada, she fit into the latter category. While she had never played the video game Fallout, or watched the hit TV show, she understood the lore. But more importantly, she and her project-mates understood what the experience could add to their resumes. A diverse and robust portfolio is crucial for any EED student seeking a career in the world of entertainment engineering. 

“The students who got to work on this project — it was really important for them,” Genova said. “They were getting professional credit to put on their resume right before they graduate, right before they get launched into the world.”

Estrada was tasked with fireproofing and surface painting, and also worked with associate professor-in-residence Michael Hill on installing the 3D-printed light bulbs. She juggled the project with two other resume-boosting experiences: Senior Design — the culminating capstone experience for all UNLV Engineering students — and an independent project called “The Dock.” 

The Dock is an outdoor music venue Estrada conceptualized and created with fellow EED  collaborators for UNLV’s Art Walk in fall 2025. The idea has now evolved into a registered student organization, AMPED (Alliance for Media, Production, and Event Design).

“He (Genova) has such a devotion to making sure his students’ portfolios are diverse and inclusive of the works that they are able to do,” Estrada said, adding that without these combined experiences, she’s certain she wouldn’t have landed a job as a show control technician for Universal Horror Unleashed. 

Estrada’s experience is something Genova wants for every student enrolled in the EED program, which just last year received, for the first time, accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) — making it the only ABET-accredited B.S. in EED program in the world.

With small and innovative classes that are responsive to industry needs, and niche hands-on experiences like the Fallout project — all delivered from a home base in the entertainment capital of the world — the EED program prepares students like Estrada to be leaders in the entertainment engineering industry in Las Vegas, and beyond. 

“I’ve been able to show that I'm capable of not only becoming part of a team, but that I can also take things from proof of concept to fabrication,” Estrada said. “It’s the kind of experience that sets you apart.”