The exhale.

It’s as much a part of the graduation celebration as caps, gowns, long speeches, and the beaming smiles of proud loved ones.

Rest assured, those who attend commencement May 16-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center will hear more than a few of these “Whew — I did it!” exhales. 

It’s unlikely, however, that any graduate has been waiting to unleash that sigh of relief as long as Edward Box III, who began pursuing his hospitality management degree more than a quarter century ago.

“It’s just hitting me now,” Box said recently. “‘Wow — I’m actually completing that dream I’ve always had.’”

It’s a dream that dates back to the mid-1980s, when a then 18-year-old Box departed his lifelong home on the Southern Ute Indian Tribe reservation in Ignacio, Colorado, and made his way to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

Box got a hotel job as a front desk night auditor. Intrigued by the guest services part of the gig, he began thinking about a career in tourism. Then in the early 1990s, a casino opened on the Southern Ute reservation.

Soon after, Box’s casual interest in tourism morphed into a full-on passion for hospitality.

He went to work for what is now the Sky Ute Casino Resort in 1993, eventually rising to the position of property shift manager. Taking advantage of a scholarship program offered by the Southern Ute tribe, Box enrolled at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

At this point, Box not only was all-in on a hospitality career, but he had already settled on his ultimate goal: to be a general manager of a tribal casino.

Enter UNLV.

In 1999, upon learning of the university’s top-ranked hospitality school, Box transferred from Fort Lewis College.

Two years into his journey as a full-time UNLV student, Box landed a position as a record retention clerk at The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip. As his responsibilities at The Venetian increased, Box reduced his course load before eventually deciding to press the pause button in the early 2000s.

Box would rise to the role of group housing coordinator at The Venetian and was part of the team that helped open the resort’s sister property, The Palazzo.

Then came The Great Recession. Although he survived the first two rounds of layoffs, Box sensed his days at The Venetian were numbered. So he re-enrolled at UNLV part time, but economic circumstances forced his return to his Native homeland prior to the fall 2010 semester.

Making his second departure from UNLV all the more difficult? Box was the equivalent of one semester away from graduating.

He would spend the next 13 years working in various capacities for both the Southern Ute tribe (including serving as chairman of the gaming commission) and Sky Ute Casino Resort.

Waiting for a Sign

As the years passed, Box never gave up on his dream of someday being the boss of a tribal casino. He had, however, more or less given up on completing his hospitality degree.

“I had gotten to the point where I convinced myself, ‘Oh, I don’t need a degree. I can just continue working. It’ll work out,’” he said. 

Then came a dose of reality: A little more than a year ago — while working in his current role of assistant general manager intern at Sky Ute — Box scored interviews for a general manager position at two tribal casinos. Both times, he said, the properties were ready to make him an offer.

Just one problem.

“One of the requirements in both job descriptions they sent me was a bachelor’s degree in hospitality,” Box said. “I was like, ‘Oh. I don’t have that.’”

So nine months ago, he asked for and received an educational leave of absence from his assistant GM intern job at Sky Ute Casino, then contacted UNLV in hopes of resuming his studies.

He received a good news-bad news response: Come on back. However, because the Hospitality College revamped its curriculum several years ago — even changing the hotel administration major that he initially was pursuing to hotel management — Box was now two semesters shy of graduation, not one.

Undeterred, Box returned to UNLV for the Fall 2024 semester — this time, as a 57-year-old student.

“When I initially came back, I was nervous because of the big age difference between myself as a nontraditional student and the general [student body],” Box said. “For instance, I don’t go out and party and those kinds of things. So that generational gap was concerning. 

“The classes also were a challenge because a lot of the teaching methods had changed — what we’re studying, how we study, online presentations, the fact everything is digital. But it’s a much broader education than it was when I first came to the university.”

Feeling at Home

Ultimately, though, Box fit in seamlessly, even sharing his lengthy work experiences with fellow students and leveraging that institutional knowledge during classroom discussions and group assignments.

Just as important, Box said he felt more at home here than when he initially arrived on campus — a campus that sits on the indigenous land of the Southern Paiute tribe.

Not only does the university’s diverse general student population feature more Native American representation than it did a quarter century ago, but academic research in areas specific to indigenous people and land has expanded over the years.

So, too, have the curriculum offerings. For instance, thanks to the generosity of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, UNLV students can now seek degrees related to tribal gaming through both the College of Hospitality and the William S. Boyd School of Law.

“When I first got here [in 1999], there wasn’t any Native American presence here — at least I didn’t see one,” Box said. “That’s no longer the case, though.”

Another example of UNLV’s growing and thriving indigenous community: the Native American Student Association (NASA), a social organization dedicated to preserving Native culture and supporting Native students during their UNLV journey. 

During Native American Heritage Month celebrations last year, Box danced at a UNLV football game at Allegiant Stadium, then was invited by a NASA member to do the same at a Runnin’ Rebels basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Box’s latter performance so impressed onlookers that he was nominated to be the head man dancer for the fourth annual UNLV Powwow for the Planet. The two-day cultural celebration held in April at Cox Pavilion promotes leadership development among local youth and advocacy for environmental justice and protection of indigenous land in Nevada.

Once  chosen for the honor, Box made some modifications to his traditional Southern Ute dance regalia.

“I take so much pride in being a UNLV student and being a Rebel that I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to reflect that pride in my outfit,’” he said. “So I made this ribbon shirt where one sleeve says ‘UNLV’ and the other sleeve says ‘Rebels,’ and it was all UNLV colors, as were my breast plate and apron.

“I did it because UNLV is also now part of my tradition, and I want to show pride in where I received my education.”

He intends for that pride to extend far beyond graduation day.

Paying It Forward

Although Box will soon return to his job at Sky Ute Casino Resort in Colorado — and have the “intern” part of his assistant general manager title removed, thanks to his degree completion — he has expressed a desire to join the university’s Native American Alumni Club.

Moreover, he insists he will be an involved alum, determined to give back so that others who share his cultural background, his experiences as a nontraditional student, or his passion for hospitality can follow in his footsteps.

“My grandmother and grandfather taught me in our traditional ways that, in order to be successful in life, you have to continuously — there’s no end to it — give back and create that connection and support [for future generations],” Box said. “The youth are most important and whom you have to groom to become leaders.”

In fact, Box already has laid the groundwork for Southern Ute tribal youth to make their way to his alma mater and to pursue professional careers in hospitality by connecting his tribe’s education department with Tammi Tiger, director of the Hospitality College’s Tribal Education Initiative. 

“Now that I have seen and experienced the university’s support of Native American interests … I want to encourage our tribal membership to start coming to school here to strengthen [Sky Ute Casino’s] hospitality and gaming programs,” he said. “Because that path [to UNLV] has now been paved.”

Of course, it’s only paved because Box chose to return to UNLV last August and finish what he started.

Now, two semesters and eight completed classes later, he’s finally ready to exhale.