Tricia Evans is the UNLV College of Sciences Alumna of the Year. | UNLV.edu
Tricia Evans is the UNLV College of Sciences Alumna of the Year. | UNLV.edu
The head of mineral resource management for Nevada Gold Mines has been named the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Sciences Alumna of the Year.
Every industry is affected by people going into the same field as their parents and grandparents, including those in the arts and entertainment, hospitality, food and beverage, law and order, academia and sports. Whatever the profession, you'll find that subsequent generations of your family have followed in the footsteps of those who came before them. Given that fact, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Tricia Evans decided to follow in her grandfather and father's footsteps.
According to the UNLV News Center, Evans entered the family business when she graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s in geology/earth science.
“Both my father and grandfather were concerned about me going into such a tough and dirty profession, but working underground was in my blood and I knew I wanted it,” Evans told the UNLV News Center. “It took a bit of convincing, but my mom raised her daughters to be strong, independent women who don’t back down from challenges.”
Evans added that current students should maximize the ample number of opportunities afforded to them at the school.
“It is important to me that students realize the opportunities that they have coming out of the university," Evans told the UNLV News Center. "UNLV is in the backyard of one of the largest gold mining regions in the world, and I have the opportunity to educate students about that. The more I can get involved at UNLV, the more I can attract students into mining — regardless of their gender.”
Evans was influenced not only by her family's involvement in geology but also by a high school science teacher.
"Growing up, I always loved science, and during my junior year in high school, my favorite teacher, Mrs. Rhonda Paxton, taught a semester of geology/astronomy," Evans said, according to the UNLV News Center. "In that class, I realized that geology is the perfect mix of all the sciences — plus, there was only a moderate amount of math and lots of hiking in the mountains. Mrs. Paxton gave me a lot of insight into what a career in geology could look like. It was a bit of a romanticized version of what a geologist does — study rocks, solve the earth’s mysteries.’’
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