This has to be a particularly challenging time to be an urgent health care provider, yes?

This year has been particularly challenging to work in any field. Each job has its own unique set of challenges; healthcare is no different. Working during a pandemic is challenging because we don’t just have the pandemic to deal with, but the everyday calls for service as well. In the beginning of the pandemic, we were working 16- to 18-hour days, six and seven days a week trying to just get our heads above water. While we have largely adjusted, there are still communities that are overwhelmed. That is

You have worked for a local law firm for about six years. How has that experience shaped your career aspirations?

Working throughout undergrad and law school has really cemented my desire to work in the legal field. I enjoy what I do, the people that I help, and everyone that I work with. All the attorneys at De Castroverde Law Group have been supportive of my goals and taught me so much. I genuinely feel that I will hit the ground running as soon as I am licensed to practice.

As president of La Voz [Boyd's Latinx/Hispanic law student association], what do you hope the group will accomplish

As president of the Jewish Law Student Association, what are your goals for the group this year?

I would like to create a space on campus devoted to furthering Judaism and a safe space for religious observance. JLSA is open to all and is committed to spreading awareness of issues that affect Jewish law students. This year, we would like to start a network of Jewish professionals and attorneys in the community to which our members can connect. 

Same question for the Intellectual Property Law Society, of which you also are president this year.

IP Law is an up and coming field and one that is

You have extensive experience working in sports. Let's hear about it!

At the age of 12, I decided I wanted to watch sports—specifically basketball—for a living. As a freshman in high school, I started volunteering to cover all the teams and had my own sports column in the school newspaper. While studying journalism, I worked for my university's athletics department and filmed games, cut highlights, provided color commentary on broadcasts, produced video features, and wrote about our teams. I got my first taste of working in the NBA as a video production intern with the Charlotte Hornets

Tell us about your day job with UNLV.

As a compensation analyst, I evaluate and analyze market data to determine salary placements for academic faculty at UNLV. It involves making recommendations on salary increase requests and job retention offers for current employees. My role is to help ensure that our university is competitively paying our faculty compared to other universities while maintaining parity with their internal peers. I also work on reviews for the Office of Compliance on assessments regarding potential pay discrimination practices and perceived inequity based on a protected

You are the president of Boyd's Black Law Students Association. Please tell our readers about the organization's summer and plans for the year.  

The Black Law Students Association’s extracurricular year started early. I must shout-out the herculean effort so far from this year’s executive board. Our summer consisted of attempting to bring the Boyd community together during contentious moments. We focused our effort on organizing a remembrance vigil honoring Black lives lost to unwarranted police violence, holding two discussion forums predicated on police reform and social justice rights

You have a BA and a MA in history.  When did you discover your love for the subject?

I cannot remember a specific moment, but as early as I can remember, I have always loved history. When I was a kid, I loved watching history channel documentaries and playing historically themed video games. From there, learning about the subject in school only sparked my interest further. I would say that by the time I got to high school, I was confident that I would be studying history in college.

If given the opportunity to have dinner with any figure from history (yep, staying on theme), who would you

Tell us about your teaching experience prior to law school.  

After graduating from BYU, I taught fifth and sixth grade in Utah County. While there, I directed the school choir and taught several kids how to beatbox. I also enjoyed going out to recess every day to play basketball, kickball, and four square. I love working with kids, which is why I still volunteer with Kids’ Court School at Boyd and teach music to children aged three to eleven at my church. 

You are the president of Boyd's J. Reuben Clark Society. What has the group been up to this year?

Our weekly discussions give us the

You were born in Brazil. Do you still have ties there?

Yes. My aunt, uncle, cousins, and their children and grandchildren are all in Brazil. I also have my daughter's godparents and many friends. The only people I have in the U.S. are my mom and my daughter Kailah, who was born here. 

What are you most excited to do once our "stay at home" life is a thing of the past?

A wise man said, "I drink, and I know things." Once this stay-at-home, social distancing life is behind us, I would like to have a drink with my friends and be able to practice law and put the things that I have learned in law

Dr. Praveen Saran is a third-year student at the Boyd School of Law and a licensed physician who has been serving on the front line of the current public health crisis.