Four grads highlight another UNLV class that does the community proud

Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 | 2 a.m.

At the tail end of a year with way too many dark clouds, UNLV’s commencement ceremony last week offered a shining ray of promise for the future of our community. As evidenced by the talents, ambitions and dedication of the students obtaining their degrees, it’s clear we’ll be in good hands as these young leaders come to the forefront.

Some 5,000 graduates from both the spring and fall 2020 semesters were honored in the ceremony, which was held virtually due to the pandemic. Although the community unfortunately wasn’t able to applaud them in person, we tip our hats to all of them today.

As always, UNLV recognized a group of outstanding graduates this year, who were nominated by faculty and their fellow students. Today we offer a look at those graduates, along with our thanks to them for reminding us of the extraordinary potential of the students in our community.

• Regina Boston proved her commitment to public service well before she earned her bachelor’s degree in public health this year. Boston served as a Security Forces member of the U.S. Air Force for eight years, during which time she earned an associate degree in criminal justice, then became a COVID-19 contact tracer for the Southern Nevada Health District while pursuing her degree at UNLV. Further, she worked with UNLV faculty to improve and enhance the public health program, including by helping develop a mentorship program. Now, she’s pursuing an internship with the office of U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and a dual degree in public health and law.

Her career goal, she says, is a role in public health that will allow her to work toward reducing health disparities and improving social justice.

• In nominating Miliaikeala “Milia” SJ Heen as an outstanding graduate, the chair of UNLV’s Department of Criminal Justice, Joel Lieberman, called her the most exceptional graduate student he’d encountered in his 23 years at UNLV. It’s easy to see why. Heen, who received a Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice, has excelled in the classroom, as a researcher and in student life at the university, where she also earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. A recipient of the Nevada Regents’ Graduate Scholar Award, Heen coordinated a 25-person research team examining the use of aerial drones by law enforcement, and also conducted research exploring ways to reduce sexual assaults at concerts, clubs and in other public settings.

She further taught 18 sections of Research Methods, served as program coordinator of the UNLV women’s lacrosse team beginning in 2014 and took on a role as student experience coordinator in charge of the College of Urban Affairs’ Urban Adventure class.

• Alina Lindquist is a rare triple major, earning bachelor’s degrees in anthropology, art and art history. Among her accomplishments at UNLV were serving as a peer mentor for incoming students in the Honors College and a peer instructor for the college’s first-year seminar, and completing an internship in which she assisted with efforts to create digital 3D models of artifacts in the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. Lindquist also studied abroad for two semesters, first in Italy and then in Thailand, where she served as a volunteer English teacher and launched a yoga club at Chiang Mai University.

“Alina is the kind of student that stands out for seeing UNLV as a place of opportunity and fully embracing what this could afford,” said UNLV anthropology professor Peter Gray, who nominated Lindquist. “She has done so much in her years at UNLV, serving as an inspiration for how fellow students get involved and push personal and other boundaries.”

• Jamal Sims, who earned an executive master’s degree in health care administration, has amassed an impressive leadership résumé at a young age. Among the highlights: He served as diversity programming chair and class president at Southern Illinois University as an undergraduate and doctoral student in pharmacy studies, and continues to be on the admissions committee for the pharmacy program there. In Las Vegas, he became a member of Mountain View Hospital’s cancer and pain management committees while performing his rotations there during a yearlong residency. His capstone project involved revising the hospital’s pain management protocol to reduce the use of intravenous opioids.

The first-generation college student says his goal is to become a chief pharmacy officer or director of pharmacy for a hospital.