Submitted by Chancellor Dan Klaich
Nevada System of Higher Education
I have spent a lot of time lately discussing the budget. My comments have tended to talk about millions of dollars coming out of campus funds and large percentage reductions to budgets or formulas. What that discussion has not conveyed is the personal damage these cuts are doing to the young men and women of our state.
Higher education changes lives, one student at a time, and it is our goal to build a better Nevada and a better future for all of us. In this report and in reports to come, I would like to stop talking for a moment about numbers and percentages and remind you of the wonderful students in this System and share some of their personal stories.
Zully Torres – Nevada State College student:
This is my second year at Nevada State College. I am a mother, wife, and a full-time nursing student. In 2012, I hope to be a first-generation college graduate. I may have done many things “backwards” in life, but NSC has provided me with an equal opportunity to get ahead. My first time around in college, I did not truly grasp or appreciate the privilege it was to be enrolled in school. I did not take advantage of the time.
After 10 years, two children and financial struggles, I have graciously been given the opportunity to try once again to change my life. After moving to Nevada two years ago, NSC accepted and welcomed me with open arms. NSC has made it financially possible for me to not only change my life entirely, but to help positively affect the future for many in Nevada’s community. The thought of having that taken away from me after two years of dedication is not only devastating to me, but could possibly derail my family’s entire future. I plan to graduate from NSC as a nurse and will be properly prepared to give back to the community that helped me on my own path.
Please support NSC in supporting our dreams!
Elan Andruss – Nevada State College student:
Throughout my life, academics have always been the most important aspect. Upon earning their college degrees in education, my parents were able to move our family out of a low-rent, high-crime area into a better neighborhood. With two parents who are high school teachers, I can hardly count the ways that education has touched my life. Although I struggled through high school with less-than-stellar grades, I found Nevada State College to be a place where I gained the confidence I needed to succeed.
I am working toward earning my degree in secondary education. I believe that I can, through teaching, make a difference in another person’s life. Knowledge is like a key, and with the right keys, any opportunity can become reality. It is my hope that our legislators will not make cuts to education that will take those keys away from an entire generation of Nevadans.
