As the new co-chair of UNLV's Rebel Homecoming, Marni Dow is ready to write the chapter for the big 60th anniversary year of this annual tradition.

A double Miami Hurricane alum turned die-hard UNLV Rebel, Dow knows a thing or two about weathering the storms that planning big events can bring. She is the senior associate director of Student Government and Activities and has a talent for helping thousands of students turn their wild ideas into reality. 

As she steps into co-chairing the Homecoming Committee for the first time, she’s not daunted by the challenges; she’s bringing the floats — or carts, in this case — and all her contingency plans to this week's festivities.

Marni, how does a Hurricane become a Rebel, or use your Hurricane spirit at UNLV?

As a double alumnus of the University of Miami, I will always bleed orange and green, but after 13 years at UNLV, I’m also a Rebel at heart. Anyone who has lived in a part of the world prone to hurricanes knows that you need to stay nimble and ready for things to shift and change with very little notice. You may think you’re out of the path of the eye of that storm, but they rarely land exactly where the forecasters thought they would. Sometimes you think it’s a Category 1 headed toward you, but it can intensify right before it makes landfall.

Working with students and planning events is very similar — I’ve had to master the idea of planning every detail we can think of and then making contingency plans when inevitably something goes awry.

In your role working with student leadership, what do you find to be the most impactful part of your work?

I absolutely love getting to see a student take an idea from that initial “Hey, this would be cool” to “I can’t believe I made that happen.” With both CSUN Student Government and the Rebel Events Board, we have some of the most impressive students with amazingly creative ideas. Usually what they need most from us is someone to be a sounding board, ask them questions and help point them in the right direction.

I’m at my happiest when I get to see our students shine; a new CSUN senator passing the first bill they’ve authored, a REB student executing an event we’ve never done before, the student body president speaking on behalf of more than 27,000 undergrads at a Board of Regents meeting. I’m just here to make sure they have the tools and resources that they need.

Student leadership can seem like a revolving door as students graduate — what are the fun aspects and the challenges in that?

I genuinely believe that everyone who works on a college campus is an educator in some way, even if they never set foot in a classroom. What our students learn through their involvement with CSUN and REB is like an intensive leadership laboratory. And every time leadership turns over, it’s like a new classroom of students showing up. I get to teach them how to find their voice and build confidence before moving on to the world outside of UNLV.

Yes, it’s challenging, but being challenged by new students each year keeps me on my toes and sharpens my own skills and abilities.

You have also experienced great leadership under longtime employee Sunny Gittens. What has she instilled in you during your time at UNLV?

I am so lucky that I get to work under [Executive Director of Student Engagement] Sunny Gitten's leadership. No one believes in their team more than Sunny — and all of us in Student Involvement & Activities feel it. One of the greatest lessons (out of many) that I have learned from her is to always advocate for and champion the staff that works with you. It’s never about the hierarchy of the department, but about the way we serve students. She sees the best in each of us and gives us the space to grow and thrive while also knowing she’ll be there for whatever support we need.

Knowing the belief she has shown in me for so many years makes me feel confident in my own abilities. I try very hard to provide the same for the staff that reports to me.

How does it feel taking over co-chair reins for the 60th Homecoming Anniversary?

I have always loved Homecoming! Since I started at UNLV in 2013, I have been involved in the planning of Homecoming in some way. My first role at UNLV was as an event coordinator with Student Union & Event Services. For four years in that role, I oversaw many of the logistical elements of Homecoming. In my current role, I manage the advising team for the Rebel Events Board, who plans all of the student elements of Homecoming. Advising REB is a team sport between myself and my two amazing campus activities coordinators — shoutout to Kyla Creps and Zion Moore!

Homecoming is so complex and intricate and takes a full effort from the entire campus community to make it happen. Taking on the role of co-chair of the larger University Homecoming Committee team feels like a natural progression and a great challenge to take on!

Are there any surprises you can share for this year’s Homecoming parade?

For the 60th anniversary of Homecoming, REB chose the theme of “Roarin’ Through the Decades.” It’s going to be so fun seeing all of the campus decorated to celebrate UNLV over all of those 60 years. I don’t want to give away any surprises, but I will tell you all that the parade route will shine extra bright this year!

What does Homecoming mean for you, and how does it feel that the 60th anniversary is your inaugural year of co-chairing the committee? … No pressure.

I love that Homecoming is all about showcasing the UNLV community and providing opportunities for students to find connection and belonging. Current students are creating the memories that will carry on with them. Faculty and staff are decorating offices and golf cart floats to showcase what they do. And alumni bring it all together to remind us that the Rebel spirit stays with you long after you graduate.

The Pep Rally, the Festival and Parade, the big game on Saturday, and everything in between gives opportunities for everyone in the community to celebrate being a Rebel. It feels like a privilege to be trusted enough by the colleagues and peers I work with to take on this leadership role. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my amazing co-chair, Renee Rivera-Ghelfi [from the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement].

How does you decompress after Homecoming?

I’m not sure there’s much decompression until the semester ends. We’ll roll right into CSUN elections the week after Homecoming, then REB’s Annual Drag Bingo event the week after that. The nature of Student Involvement & Activities is that there’s always another event, or student initiative, on the horizon. But that’s the fun of it — tackling the next challenge to create as many opportunities as possible for our students to find connection and belonging on campus.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

I’m a voracious reader. The last few years, my book count has been right around 150 for each year. That’s usually about a 50/50 mix of books I read with my eyes, usually on my Kindle, and books I read with my ears (audiobooks). I will always find a way to fit in a few chapters here or there.

If you see me yawning, it's probably because I played the “one more chapter” game for too long the night before. If you see me walking across campus with an earbud in, I probably used those 10 minutes to listen to a book. Feel free to come and ask me what I’m reading.