Grads eager to tout new school

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

Nevada State College's first 13 graduates thanked their alma mater Thursday by publicly donating $1,500 to the school during their commencement ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas.

The graduates requested that the money be earmarked for scholarships to help first-generation students earn their degrees.

"It's just to show our gratitude, and to help anyone else that would be in our situation," said Pam Frazier, a 48-year-old history major and the first of five siblings to graduate from college. Frazier said she hopes to earn a master's degree in library science.

A common theme throughout the commencement ceremony Thursday was that the class will have the added burden of promoting the 2-year-old college through their work in the community.

"Everything they do is going to reflect on Nevada State College, on its students and its faculty," President Kerry Romesburg said. "And that is a big responsibility."

It's also a responsiblity the graduates said they are grateful to bear.

"I'm very proud that I could be a part of Nevada State College and just to graduate," said Milissa Avilla, another first-generation graduate who won the 2004 Regents Scholar Award and a check for $5,000.

"They've done so much for us," Avilla, an elementary education major, said. "I want to go out there and represent Nevada State so that they can say, 'Look at what we produced.' "