Dr. Matthew M. LeClaire Scholarship

Dr. Matt LeClaire was an amazing teacher.  He had infectious energy and passion that got students and colleagues alike excited to be in the classroom with him. There's no better way to carry on his legacy than through the people he loved most: kids. Matt believed no matter where students came from or what they looked like; everyone deserved to be loved deeply, treated with respect, and given a chance. That's our  Young Executive Scholars Hospitality & Tourism Program (YES) mission.

Modeled after the UNLV IGI and University of Nevada Reno’s renowned Executive Development Program for industry professionals, YES is a rigorous summer program of applied learning, team collaboration, and a mentor-guided, case-study analysis of the global hospitality tourism industry. Each summer, rising stars in the Clark County School District (CCSD) discover the managerial and executive-level career opportunities available to them in the industry of their backyard, gain insight into the UNLV college experience, and develop new skills to excel in the classroom today and the workplace tomorrow.

YES is where university, nonprofit, industry, and community come together to build a better future for low-income Las Vegas youth. Through exposure and access to a diverse pool of successful executives and leaders, we hope that we will create a strong pipeline of homegrown talent who will become the next generation of Nevada hospitality industry trailblazers.

I hope you help us remember Matt by giving our YES students the opportunity of a lifetime. Your contribution will help us raise scholarships to recognize YES students' outstanding achievements each year. The scholarship will be used towards student's college of their choosing upon high school graduation.

Your donation will go to the YES scholarship fund at the Nevada Community Foundation, ensuring the funds go directly into students' college savings accounts. You or your company's contribution is tax-deductible.

Thank you for supporting YES!

To learn more about YES, please visit www.unlv.edu/igi/yes or contact [email redacted].

To learn more about Nevada Community Foundation, please visit www.nevadacf.org.