Over the course of three ceremonies on Dec. 16 and 17, more than 2,300 UNLV students will officially become graduates — each with a unique story of perseverance and triumph that they’ll carry with them across the Thomas & Mack Center stage and into their chosen careers.
They’re a diverse group. While 90% are Nevada residents, members of the fall Class of 2025 hail from 29 states and 37 countries. The oldest grad is 77, and the youngest is 19. About 72% identify as racial/ethnic minorities, and 50% are the first in their family to earn a degree.
These graduates are daring too.
For more than two decades, UNLV has sought campus and community nominations for exceptional students who embody the grit, perseverance, and collective achievement graduating class to be recognized during commencement.
President Chris Heavey will continue the tradition this semester by highlighting seven graduating students for their academic success, research, and community service.
This year’s crop of Outstanding Graduates include: An advocate who changed careers and eschewed retirement to fight for better healthcare experiences for patients and their families. An educator and single mom leading the way to better STEM field representation among Black women and other underrepresented groups. An avid community volunteer building connections among and with our Indigenous neighbors. An undergrad engaging and uniting students across disciplines via the power of art. A hospitality professional pursuing her academic dreams alongside her daughter. A scientist looking to advance the emerging area of quantum biology. And an aspiring clinical psychologist aiming to save lives.
Here are their stories.
Miguel Castano
B.A. in Psychology; Minor in Philosophy
Peers and professors remarked with amazement at all that Miguel Castano has accomplished as an undergraduate. He served in leadership roles; produced graduate-level research; won prestigious research grants, awards, and scholarships; performed community service; and maintained an impressive 3.95 GPA.
And somehow he managed to juggle it with managing his own home and health challenges.
But it’s exactly those lived experiences that nominators say have sharpened Miguel’s empathy, deepened his commitment to serving marginalized communities, and strengthened his desire to become a clinical psychologist.
Miguel’s research explores the relationship between racial trauma, stress, and educational outcomes. As a research assistant for the GAME (Growth, Advocacy, and the Marginalized Experience) Lab, he led and co-authored manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals — winning highly competitive awards from the Western Psychological Association and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. The two-time Ronald E. McNair scholar also supported an international, multi-lab research study on infant cognition as a UNLV Music Lab research assistant.
As UNLV Psychology Club president, Miguel mentored peers and helped raise over $5,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He was inducted into the Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society and listed on the Philosophy Chair’s Rising Scholars List.
Miguel kept busy off campus, too. The registered behavior technician traveled to schools, homes, and clinics to deliver therapy to kids with autism. That’s on top of volunteering with the Just One Project and Hearts for the Homeless International, and as a crisis counselor for the National Crisis Text Line.
Next up, Miguel plans to pursue a clinical psychology doctorate, continue his research into suicide prevention, and open a private practice for trauma victims.
Jose Guerra
B.S. in Biochemistry; Minors in Neuroscience and Math
“Extraordinary” has nothing on Jose Guerra. In the two years since he started doing research, Jose has earned all four competitive statewide research fellowships available to biology students. And within one year, he was leading a project on organ regeneration, requiring knowledge of physics, chemistry, and biology.
He only continued to impress from there, receiving acclaim from professors on the opposite side of the country, calling him “exceptionally intelligent” and “remarkably quick at grasping complex biological concepts.”
He received fellowships from the NIH’s Nevada IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduate, and NASA Space Grant programs. He’s a co-author on a peer-reviewed publication. And Jose is always ready to lend a helping hand, and generously donates so much of his time to assisting others by volunteering as the Mentor Committee Chair in the Life Sciences Student Association — where he helps improve students’ academic performance and their sense of belonging.
He’s currently helping to build custom equipment to measure and manipulate magnetic fields – work that may significantly advance the emerging area of quantum biology. Jose graduates this fall with a bachelor’s in biochemistry plus minors in neuroscience and math, and he’s not done. Next, he seeks to earn his Ph.D. and pursue a research career in biomedical engineering.
Barbara Lewis
Ph.D. in Public Health
Barbara Lewis’ path from a successful career in marketing to a Ph.D. in Public Health was paved through personal loss and a passion to make a difference.
At a time when many of her friends were enjoying the slower pace of retirement, Barbara stepped away from a 20-plus year career in marketing to a focus on healthcare following the unexpected loss of her sister, Joan.
After her sister’s passing, Barbara memorialized her experience in a document she titled “Joan’s Family Bill of Rights,” which outlined suggestions for the delivery of care and became a foundational piece in the next chapter of her life. Barbara went on to invest her time and efforts fully on research and advocacy for Patient and Family Advocacy Councils and their vital role in helping medical facilities deliver safe and responsive care.
Pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Health, with a concentration in Health Service Management and Policy, would allow her to continue on this path. Not only did Lewis continue her research, she authored five peer-reviewed articles on these councils, giving hospitals a blueprint for starting, reviving, or strengthening their efforts in this area.
She has also presented at numerous national and international conferences, volunteered as the associate editor of the Journal of Patient Experience, and worked full time as a project director for a grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and as the managing director of the Academy for Professionalism in Health Care.
Last year, Barbara launched Healthcare PX, a nonprofit committed to transforming the patient experience. Through this new venture, she plans to lead the conversation around patient care in the United States and beyond.
Monique North
Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction
When it comes to making every minute count, there’s no one more well-equipped to handle the task than Monique North. With nearly 20 years of experience in STEM-centered education, this single mother of three has managed to raise her family and conquer her educational goals all at once.
Monique is intimately aware of the challenges facing underrepresented groups in STEM, and her research seeks to level the playing field with practices that ensure selection processes and learning environments are inclusive. Monique wants to make a difference by highlighting the value of diversity in STEM professionals, to afford opportunities to overlooked groups — particularly Black women in STEM — and create equitable education practices.
She writes about these theories in concept, and acts on them in practice — leading a team of racially diverse educators in the creation of culturally responsive lessons with the Army Educational Outreach Program. This has been the culmination of her many conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and invited talks. These include the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the Association for Career and Technical Education Research.
Monique’s work has also been heavily validated with awards and fellowships, such as the Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award, Roosevelt Fitzgerald Outstanding Student Award, Graduate Studies Grant, and more.
Between working in the car while waiting to pick her kids up from school, or organizing her schedule around the unending work that comes from being a mother — she has fought hard to stay competitive in the academic space, persevering to complete her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and earning a perfect 4.0 along the way.
Anisa Pelayo
B.S. in Business Administration (Marketing)
Anisa Pelayo is a Las Vegas native who proudly represents the Southern Paiute and Navajo Nations. And she parlayed her roots into raw inspiration, dedicating her undergraduate career to promoting inclusivity and belonging among the Indigenous community and building bridges across campus and beyond.
Anisa co-founded the first American Indigenous Business Leaders chapter in Nevada. Under her leadership, the chapter received a special proclamation from UNLV’s president for its contributions to economic development in Indian Country. Anisa is a business administration major who channeled her marketing concentration expertise as an assistant with the law school’s Indian Nations Gaming and Governance Program. She also interned at the tribally owned Palms Casino Resort.
When Anisa wasn’t busy helping coordinate large-scale campus events — like the National Native American Law Students Association moot court competition or a heritage month talk by the founder of Nike’s N7 Native American line — she was out in the community.
Anisa organized multiple service projects, including a “Protect Our Park” cleanup at the East Las Vegas Family Park, and a drive to collect clothing and gift cards for the Cheyenne River Youth Project’s Support Lakota Teens initiative. In 2024, she was selected by Nevada’s Secretary of State to serve on the youth advisory task force for the Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy.
Her academic excellence and commitment to community impact earned her the prestigious Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation scholarship and recognition from UNLV’s business school as a Lee Scholar.
Next, Anisa will continue her educational journey right here at Boyd Law, expanding her work in law, governance, and economic development and furthering her advocacy for Indigenous communities.
Jennifer Tidwell
M.A. in Hospitality Administration
Jennifer Tidwell already had years of professional experience and a busy schedule when she enrolled at UNLV as part of the NSHE-MGM College Opportunity Program, a unique partnership that enables MGM employees to advance their education through access to online degree programs.
Still, Jennifer embraced the full college experience — balancing a full-time career and parenting with graduate-level coursework, campus advocacy, and community involvement. And her impact both on and off campus has been profound.
As a master’s student studying hospitality administration, Jennifer served as the College of Hospitality rep to the Graduate and Professional Student Association, as a Graduate Ambassador, and as a UNLV Graduate Advisory Board member. She worked directly with university leaders to improve grad student engagement, strengthen connections between programs, lobby for student-centered initiatives, and expand professional development opportunities across multiple disciplines.
Jennifer was a President’s Innovation Challenge winner in multiple categories this past year — snagging the community partnership and best overall awards for Fanthropy, a project connecting sports fans with nonprofits to encourage volunteerism. She received the Zero Labs Blackfire Game Changer Visionary Award for innovation in hospitality and gaming, and the Graduate College Medallion for exceptionally involved and high-achieving students.
Even more remarkable: Jennifer pursued her academic dream alongside her daughter — and fellow UNLV grad school classmate. Jennifer is an NSHE-MGM program trailblazer, becoming the first to graduate with both a bachelor’s and master’s through the initiative. Plus, she earned a gaming management certificate and a perfect 4.0 along the way.
Lorenzo Williams
B.A. in Art; Minor in Art History
The power of higher education is reflected through its ability to unite disciplines, collectively advance knowledge, and enrich the cultural vitality of the communities we serve.
Lorenzo Williams beautifully exemplifies the impact of the arts and humanities, and their vital role on campus and throughout Southern Nevada. Lorenzo, who graduates this fall with a bachelor’s degree in Art and a minor in Art History, possesses a rare combination of intellectual rigor, creative insight, and unwavering determination.
As a student and artist, his efforts bridge historical and contemporary artistic practices. His independent research examined the influence of Dante Divine Comedy on modern visual representations of hell, culminating in an original analysis of artist Sandow Birk’s twenty-first-century reinterpretation of Dante’s Inferno. He has presented his work at the UNLV undergraduate research symposium, and also serves as a peer mentor with the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Lorenzo founded the UNLV Art History Club to enable students to engage with art beyond the classroom, and he collaborated with faculty to develop a comparative art history course for undergraduates.
Next up for Lorenzo is pursuit of a Ph.D. in Art History, where he’ll continue contributing to the discipline through research, teaching, and practice.
