If you’ve attended a UNLV alumni function in the past decade, odds are Achievement in Service Award winner Ken Bahl’s fingerprints have been on it. Since graduating, Bahl, ’96 B.S. Health Care Administration, has remained closely connected to his alma mater, including volunteering on the board of the UNLV Alumni Association beginning in 2008.
In addition to serving on numerous committees — including events, membership, marketing, and board development — Bahl did a stint as board president from February 2014 to January 2016. Not only does this lifetime member of the Alumni Association continue to attend many alumni events, but he’s always quick to lend a hand to support staff in charge of running the events.
When he’s not giving back to his alma mater, Bahl focuses on what has been a very successful career in the health care industry. Currently, he’s the principal of Custom Benefit Consultants, a firm that supports consumers, corporations, providers, and other stakeholders across the broad health insurance spectrum. A man of many hats, Bahl is also the president of Las Vegas-based third-party administrator Control Source, Inc.
Proving his never-ending devotion to UNLV’s alumni, Bahl offers this bit of practical advice for recent graduates preparing to join the workforce in their chosen field: Do exhaustive research on your industry and learn all you can about potential employers before walking into an interview. In other words, your homework doesn’t end on graduation day. In fact, it’s just beginning.
What’s your favorite memory from your years as a UNLV student?
It’s extremely difficult to pick just one. Speaking broadly, I can tell you that being an undergrad was a wonderful time in my life, a time of tremendous growth and discovery, and I’m forever grateful to have gone through that process at UNLV. I always felt a tremendous sense of optimism on campus and the potential to chart a path, and my time at the university set me on a trajectory that shaped my career. The access to resources, mentoring opportunities, and practicum experience I gained at UNLV armed me with the confidence to move forward into my career field. All that said, if forced to pick one favorite memory, it would have to be watching the Rebels defeat UNR at Sam Boyd Stadium my junior year.
What do you hope to see current and future Rebels achieve?
I’ve witnessed a major trajectory of growth over the past 25 years in Southern Nevada, and many UNLV alumni have contributed greatly to that growth. So I sincerely hope that future alumni continue along the same path and commit to making a difference in this community. Considering the university’s impressive evolution in recent years with the additions of a law school, dental school, and medical school — not to mention becoming a Top Tier research university — the next generation of Rebels will have boundless opportunities to make a name for themselves both here and around the world. And, of course, I want to see future Rebels continue to outpace and outshine that school up north.
