ABOVE AND BEYOND

RENATA VALQUIER CHAVEZ

 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 

Political Science Major / Environmental Science and Biology Minor

If someone were to ask what Renata Valquier Chavez was involved in during her time at UNO, they would get an answer more quickly by asking what she wasn’t involved in.

The Omaha-area native lived her Maverick life to the fullest as a student body president and regent; a member of UNO’s track and field and cross-country teams; a member of the Thompson Learning Community; a member of the Student Honors Association; a state relations intern with the University of Nebraska System; and as a founding member of SustainUNO – an action-oriented organization for students passionate about the environment.

Renata’s UNO story culminated when she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in environmental science and biology. Her Maverick journey began at age 14 during a campus visit with her older brother, where she saw a rock-climbing wall and first fell in love with the school. As she progressed through high school, the more enamored she became with the idea of attending UNO.

"I realized that the city of Omaha has a lot of opportunity and a lot of things I can learn from, and the university within it – UNO – was really integrated," she said. "There are service-learning opportunities, and I thought it was really unique because I have never seen that type of program within other universities."

She also felt that service-learning experiences would help hone her skills to become an environmental lawyer – a career that would allow her to have a positive, tangible impact on the world.

"I really wanted to practice environmental law because I wanted to help people have access to clean water and clean air and to not have any sort of injustices be in the way of that. If you don’t have access to clean water and clean air, then it’s not going to be easy to attain a lot of things in life. Those two things are fundamental to live."

After taking on so many involvement opportunities, her unrelenting passion to serve others felt overwhelming at times, but it was the Maverick community that gave her strength.