Student Testimonials

“What we do changes lives.”

This gets to the heart of Vernetta Thomas’s philosophy. Her art goes beyond capturing mere visuals. It harnesses the emotions, connections, and narratives that make each moment special. This passion is one of the greatest tools she shares with her students at UNLV.

It can take a lifetime of practice, experimentation, success, and of course failure to achieve any level of expertise in a field of study. It takes an incredibly special person to turn around and take those years of hard work and offer them up to the next generation. Gae (Gabbie) Hirsch is one of those passionate individuals with her twenty plus years of teaching at UNLV Continuing Education.

We know our students are very busy; they have families and careers, and we want them to succeed.” Students meet for classroom training three times for 3-5 days each, plus hone their skills in a responsive online platform.

As a general manager, Danny encourages his employees to gain skills to further their own careers. As an added benefit, bettering his workforce helped his company grow, increased success, and drove employee engagement.

Kerri Carder-McCoy wanted something different. She had a degree in hospitality and built that into a successful career in the San Francisco Bay area for close to twenty years.

Carola Anderson brought her human resources degree to Las Vegas about ten years ago so she could work with her husband in the family business. As the years passed, she pondered a career change. As she pursued career opportunities, she found everyone required certifications or degrees. Carola began searching for programs that led to the necessary certifications in interpretation. 

Natalie Knuth recently completed both UNLV’s Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt programs. Did she enroll in the courses in hopes of bettering her future at a Fortune 500 company? Was she striving to become a successful CEO or vice president? Did her past showcase a traditional business management career path? Not exactly. Natalie came to the Lean Six Sigma program at UNLV by way of her theater background. 

Todd has a love of education but also strives to make his personal and professional life better by learning things he did not otherwise know. Even though his emphasis in UNLV’s Continuing Education is from a business point of view, Todd’s introduction to the classes was through personal enrichment. With his wife, he enrolled in a wine tasting class as well as a French language class. That’s when he heard about the Human Resource Management Certificate and the Organizational Leadership program. He has since completed both certificates, but for a successful person like Todd the work is not done. He will soon start the Lean Six Sigma program in hopes of finding ways to help his company attain optimal efficiency. Todd truly is the lifelong learner.