Las Vegas City Wire

A former University of Nevada, Las Vegas, student, who has been actively involved with Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering for over 30 years, has been named its Alumna of the Year.

A recent news release from the university states that Lisa Freestone, a two-time UNLV graduate, has been giving back to the engineering department through multiple means.

As the senior vice president of Carollo Engineers, where she has spent 14 years of her career, Freestone has hired numerous UNLV graduates.

When she reflects on her time at the university, Freestone wasn’t so sure it was going to work.

“I excelled in math and science in high school and thought I wanted to attend the Air Force Academy — not because of engineering, but because I was told that it was difficult for young women to be appointed,” Freestone said in the news release. “I worked very hard to receive a congressional appointment but didn’t work hard enough — in my opinion — to receive the final appointment.”

Freestone said that it was her UNLV adviser, Herb Wells, who changed her perception of college.

“At my previous school, I was nothing but a number. However, within my first few weeks at UNLV, the faculty and fellow students called me by name and a lot of that is thanks to Herb. He was the greatest advocate for all engineering college students, but he especially supported women throughout their UNLV journey," she said.

Initially, she believed being a marketing major was in her future and went to Arizona College, where she left after a year and came to UNLV and met Wells.

“For example, he quickly encouraged me to join the Society of Women Engineers to build my network and meet other women in the program," Freestone said. "I went on to serve various roles in the UNLV chapter of the SWE in fact, I was section president when we hosted the regional conference. I have remained an SWE member ever since including holding several professional section leadership roles and last year received my 30-year pin.’’