UNLV Connections: Word from the Interactive Measurement Group

Pledging to Succeed

by Kimberly A. Barchard, Susan Gutierrez, and Gemma Ortega

Kristy Six years ago, in 2017, Asia, April, Carl, Fae, Jen, and Will consulted with other members of the Interactive Measurement Group to write a pledge. Since then, members of our lab have pledged to Embrace challenges to develop my strengths and overcome my weaknesses and Support my fellow lab members in achieving their academic and career goals. When lab members wrote this pledge and when they took this pledge to help each other in 2017, 2018, and 2019, they could not imagine the challenges we would face in the next four years. And yet we did it: We helped each other succeed. In March 2020, just as the university was moving online because of the pandemic, we doubled down on supporting each other. Matt consulted with other lab members to create the response pledge, a pledge given by returning lab members to the new lab members during our induction ceremony. Returning members pledge to Provide mentorship, training, and guidance ; Support you in achieving your academic and career goals ; and Challenge you to grow and celebrate your successes.

Our lab members are diverse. Some finished high school early and are the youngest students in all their classes. Others are returning to university after having a career, running a business, or starting a family. Our lab members also have a wide variety of backgrounds, majors, and career goals. Yet they pledge to Help foster an environment of respect, trust, and understanding. They get to know each other, they appreciate each person’s unique strengths and challenges, and they look out for ways to help each other. We repeatedly see lab members supporting each other to pursue their unique pathways: during orientations when we see the variety of people who want to join our lab, during workshops and presentations when we learn about each other’s’ goals and ambitions, and when we see the variety of undergraduate majors and post-baccalaureate programs that our lab members pursue.

More than a dozen lab members have graduated in the last year. Only one of these students joined a fully in-person lab and had to make the sudden and disruptive transition to the online format. Most of these students joined a fully online lab: They had to be self-motivated to learn difficult research skills, while being mentored in an unfamiliar online platform that we were just learning to use effectively. All the recent lab members experienced our hybrid format: They had to learn what activities work best online vs. in-person and how to optimize both learning and sense of community. In addition, many of these lab members faced challenges outside of our lab: completing school work in improvised home offices, struggling to balance work and school, dealing with severe illness and sometimes the death of friends and family members. Hard times. Yet there they all were, listed in the UNLV Commencement Programs from the last year. They did it.

And they did it with distinction. Professional conference presentations. McNair Research Projects and Honors degrees. Travel awards. The Dean’s Honors List. Several even graduated at the top of their class, as designated by Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude, and Magna Cum Laude. And now many of these students are going on to graduate school, law school, or medical school. They pledged to challenge themselves and help each other, and their successes are a testament that they followed through on that pledge. We are excited to celebrate their graduations and the varied degrees they’ve achieved:

Spring 2022 Commencement:

  • Cassandra Kathleen Hoffman, Psychology (Summa Cum Laude)
  • Gemma Ortega, Psychology
  • Jesse Michael Tabaczynski, Psychology and Sociology (Magna Cum Laude)
  • Joshua Z. Chang, Psychology
  • Lashawn D. Tith, Psychology

Winter 2022 Commencement:

  • Betty Castaneda Grace, Psychology (Cum Laude)
  • Cameron Isaias Pereira, Psychology
  • Daniela Alvarez, Psychology
  • Fitsum A. Ayele, Psychology (Summa Cum Laude) Research and Creative Honors
  • Isabelle Alina Pavese, Psychology
  • Zihan Gong, Hospitality Management

Spring 2023 Commencement:

  • Emily Kenna Post, Psychology
  • Grace Elizabeth Hyde, Psychology (Summa Cum Laude)
  • Jaedyn Nicole Billerbeck, Psychology
  • Jerlyn Malasig, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Jin Qian, Hospitality Management
  • Joshua Lee Galloway, Psychology (Cum Laude)
  • Joshwa Esqueda, Psychology
  • Julissa Martinez, Psychology
  • Kai Joshua Okagawa, Psychology (Cum Laude)
  • Melanie Lopez-Pedrosa, Psychology
  • Michal Ellen Lee Newhouse-Van Vlerin. Psychology (Magna Cum Laude) Research and Creative Honors
  • Zain Naveed Raja, Psychology

Winter 2023 Commencement:

  • Yuhan Bi, Psychology
  • Dylan York, Psychology
  • Jin Qian, Psychology
  • Joshwa Esqueda, Psychology

    • Congratulations to all. We wish you the best in your future endeavors!