Several student workers and employees who work for UNLV Information Technology (IT) are earning their degree and well-prepared to take the next step in their career. These graduates have significantly contributed to work done by our IT team and are now bringing the skills they’ve learned in IT to their future profession.

This year’s spring commencement will be held in the Thomas & Mack Center. Graduates earning their master’s and doctoral degrees will have their commencement on May 16 at 4 p.m. Commencement for undergraduates will be held on May 17 at corresponding times.

Undergraduates earning their diploma as part of the spring 2025 graduating class include: 

• Adrielle Agustin, nursing
• Ethan Alvarado, computer engineering
• Mackenzie Baack, secondary education with a minor in mathematics and computer science.

“Although recently becoming a lab monitor, I started my journey at UNLV IT in the network development and engineering department almost three years ago,” Baack says. “After graduation, I plan to begin my career as a mathematics educator in CCSD, with the goal of eventually teaching computer science.”

• Gerica Buchanan, computer science
• Ian Cruz, journalism with a concentration in creative media

“My favorite part of working in IT is getting to help the professors and staff, which has really brought me closer to feeling like a member of the UNLV community,” Cruz says. “After graduation, I’ll be preparing to teach English classes in Japan during the following year.”

• Jonathan Delacruz, electrical engineering
• Nefertiti Soto Espinosa, accounting and information systems

“I’ve been a part of UNLV IT since I was a freshman. As a supply support specialist, I’ve really enjoyed helping people and ensuring they get excellent customer service, ” Soto Espinosa says. “After I graduate, I will be going to graduate school and pursuing two master degrees in accounting and information systems. I’m excited for my career journey and thankful I work for IT.”

• Skylar Foschetti, kinesiology
• Andrea Gurrola, finance
• Maia Kenney, elementary education
• Shakalim Long, film
• Francisco Jose Abad Macedo, architecture
• Nguyen Tran, biochemistry
• David Ochoa, computer engineering
• Alan Francis Reisenauer, computer science

“As an identity access and middleware student systems administrator, my favorite thing that I’ve worked on while being a part of UNLV IT was the RedCap project,” Reisenauer said. “I enjoyed getting that service set up for researchers due to the versatility and challenges the project presented.”

• Yshmaelle La Rosa, nursing
• Evan Shumaker, computer science

“For the past two and a half years, I have worked with UNLV IT as a student programmer where I assisted with a Canvas data migration and developed a web application that helped create, post, and view UNLV announcements,” Shumaker says. “I learned a lot throughout my time in this position, gained useful experience, and overall enjoyed my time at UNLV IT.”

Graduate students earning their master's or doctoral diploma include:

• Long Diep, higher education and graduate certificate in business administration.

“One of my favorite parts of the job has been helping students and faculty troubleshoot their tech issues. It's always rewarding to be the person who can solve a problem and make someone’s day easier,” Diep says. “After graduation, I’ll be returning as a student employee while pursuing a master’s degree in economics. I’m excited to continue to learn and grow with support from the IT team.”

• Prashant Rathore, computer science
• Rosa Rudd, MIS cybersecurity
• Magdalene Tamakloe, MIS cybersecurity

“As a student cybersecurity analyst, I enjoy knowing that my work helps protect the entire campus from cyberthreats and appreciate having a supportive boss who’s invested in helping me grow into a successful cybersecurity analyst,” Tamakloe said. “After graduation, I will continue working with the Information Security Office to strengthen my skills and ultimately help build secure and resilient systems in a mission-driven organization.”

Additionally, Aldrin Obiniana, who works as an IT technician for our learning management system team will be graduating this spring from the College of Southern Nevada with his associates degree in software programming.

These graduates have shown hard work and great dedication to enhancing the technology at UNLV. Congratulations to this spring’s graduating class and for more information on the commencement ceremony, please visit the UNLV commencement page.