The Scoop with Tanya Flanagan

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Tanya Flanagan 0:19
Good morning, and thank you for joining me for the scoop with Tanya Flanagan, I'm so happy you decided to wake up and start your day with me here on the scoop, where we talk about life, joy, funny moments, trending topics and so much more. We promise to keep you in the know and find out what you know. So let's get started.

You Good morning Las Vegas, and thank you for joining in. Welcome to another edition of the scoop with me. Tonya Flanagan, I am delighted to be here, and I'm super excited to once again have with me. Camilla by waters, Camila, good morning. Camila, good morning. And I know she'd expect me to say good morning so quickly. I usually have a longer intro, but I just want to just get right to it and say thank you for being here. Excited to have you, because you're just such a dynamic person. It is going to be what the second Sunday in January, we get so excited for Christmas to come, and then the new year comes in, and before you know it, you're like, 12 days into a new year. And it's mind blowing to think how fast time flies. And I think I said that because when you're a kid, you wait all year the 12 months for Christmas to come, and when you're an adult, you're like, we're already 12 days in. Oh my gosh, right, that's crazy. I asked you to come on and hang out with me today because we both sat in the same chair before life in the title of this episode, even though the show is the scoop, this one is kind of like life would be life. And I said that because, oh my gosh, things move at warp speed. Election season is over. It's behind us. We're gearing up for this legislative session to happen. People are being sworn into new offices all around us. And I know, for those of us who may be like the average common citizen voter, you've done your part, you cast your ballot, but your part really isn't over, but you don't always have the time to look at who's being sworn in, what boards are convening, what's happening, what people are talking about. And we keep talking to you to keep you engaged and educated and connected. It's really something when you run for office, like the weeks after running for a seat, the weeks after feeling all of the emotions and then deciding when the dust settles, where you land and how you feel. And Camila, you've done run for school board. I run for city council in the past, and didn't win that election. You didn't win this election. How did you how did you process?

Speaker 1 3:11
Wow. You know, this is a great thank you for choosing this topic. I think it's a great topic, especially for those out there who are listening, who are maybe interested in running for office one day, and if this is something that's in your wheelhouse, I think this conversation will help to give a lot of perspective. So I ran an exceptional campaign, and yet I may be a little bit biased with my campaign, but my team did my small but mighty team. Oh my goodness, we did a phenomenal job. And it's, it's a full time job. Like, if you run a campaign, like a full time job, it is literally a full time job and beyond. Like, there were days when I was out from like 9am to 10pm literally running all around the city, connecting with the community, connecting with students and constituents, and listening to our community about their hopes for education. So after putting just so much work into that project, and then, you know, not getting the result that I had hoped for after there is a lot of processing. And of course, you know, after finding out that I did not win the seat, I, you know, it was a lot of self reflection, like, oh my goodness, what if I would have done this? I mean, if I would have knocked 10 more doors, would it have helped me? If I would have sent three more emails, you know, you go through all of the what if I did this? But you, you come, I came to terms with, you know, what we did, all that we could do, and we've laid it all on the field. I'm a former athlete. I played soccer in college, as well as League Soccer and throughout high school, so I'm very, very competitive, and I'm. When I play a hard game and I do it well, and I felt like my team did an exceptional an exceptional job, and even though we fell short, I was able to reach over 51,000 people in my community who believed in me. I literally went from zero to 51,000, plus people in Summerlin who believed in my work, my compassion and my willingness and desire to move our school district forward. So the processing part of that was, you know, looking at the bright side that I went from not from having just a smaller perception of the issues in our community to having a more broader understanding of some of the issues that our students and their families and educational stakeholders and our broader community are having. And that was worth it. I would do it again, even knowing the result, because of the relationships and the community that I was able to build in my district, I'm

Tanya Flanagan 6:07
glad to hear you say you would do it again, because that makes you, that makes you a fighter. And for those who don't, who are introducing you to for the first time, you are education advocate extraordinaire, founder of labs, be always, it's Las Vegas Association of Black school educators. Did I get it correct?

Speaker 1 6:34
Yeah, you're close Las Vegas alliance of black school educators, okay, yeah, that's it, which is

Tanya Flanagan 6:39
a group that is dedicated to kind of being a watchdog and being an awareness and alert, a monitor of what's going on in education, to provide a platform and a place where parents, other educators, community members, people who are just dedicated and interested in education can come to have a safe space, to have a conversation and to also know that the passion and the purpose behind working education issues is going to be addressed fairly, equitably and genuinely so. Thank you for the work that you do with the organization that you found it. I know you guys have some projects and stuff coming up in the community, and I feel like it's part of your therapy to still have this, this group that you work with. And I would say that you ever feel like you didn't want to do it, but I know the kind of person that you are, from what you've already said, You never really woke up and said, I'm going to throw in a towel and I'm not going to continue to work on projects. So I know you're going to you you never really, probably even had that thought when you came out of your campaign for school board, for a school board trustee position and you didn't win that you still were like, Nope, I'm going to keep working on my with my group, and doing all my because you never stopped thinking of something new to do. It's like five days later, I was like, she could program she she had program already, but that's to be committed, because a lot No, and this is real, because a lot of people, and I've had these conversations with people across different races for different reasons, for whatever it is that drives the frustration, whether it's a conversation you might have had with the voter, whether it's the amount of time it's taken from you and your family, whether it's the strain it put on your health. To run a campaign, I don't care what the campaign is, a city council race, a state seat race, I don't care. It is taxing on people that you love, on yourself, and it really requires a lot of self examination, and you have to be honest with how you and some people come out of it, and they're not five days later on the path to what am I doing next they might be 10 days later, trying to plan a trip that's out of this country to just go sit on the beach and sip the drinks that have the pretty umbrellas in them. I mean, people really it's different for everyone. And so you are definitely kind of an anomaly, because five or 10 days later, you were like, we're having this, I

Speaker 1 9:22
know. And what's interesting about that is because, you know, my family, I have a small knit of family. But

Tanya Flanagan 9:32
wait, speaking of having this, oh, and I'm gonna add this before you even go down that route, speaking of five days later, don't you have something coming up,

Speaker 1 9:42
I do couple things that we're doing, lay

Tanya Flanagan 9:46
that out because we're I'm putting a spotlight on you're the kind of person who gets back in the ring and keeps fighting, and to that point, you have a. Program. You have a couple of events coming up that the community can participate in right now, absolutely.

Speaker 1 10:07
And so do you what do you want me to do? You want me to never giving up part or the event? I

Tanya Flanagan 10:14
want you to mention the events, and then we can keep talking about the never giving up part because of the never giving up part we have these events, and I'm just like,

Speaker 1 10:22
I'm just Whoa. Like, what if this girl really is another planet?

Speaker 2 10:26
That's what I'm saying. I know it's

Speaker 1 10:29
interesting. So I actually last year, so mister Rodney Smith has been very influential in for many years honoring Martin Luther King Jr, at the statue that is located at 1344, West Cary Avenue, North Las Vegas, 89030, so last year, the baton was passed to me and some other individuals, Minister stretch and Alex, who are helping me to plan this event. So on January 19, Sunday, January 19, at 4pm we are doing a celebration to honor Martin Luther King, Jr, and giving an opportunity for our community to come together and to enjoy just being in camaraderie together, talking about Martin Luther King, thinking about his legacy and where we can go forward as a community.

Tanya Flanagan 11:23
I want to say it's going to be fun. Yeah, it's kind of and if people it's going to be fun. I've been to the candlelight vigil. Is that the candlelight vigil Basically, yes,

Speaker 1 11:31
it's a candlelight Yes, yes, yeah. So we're looking forward to just, you know, being one with our community, and starting 2025 in you know, just a positive way working together and building community. And I

Tanya Flanagan 11:48
think that's a really good event to start with, to build harmony, especially in I'm not going to say we're in a an environment of political uproar, but, I mean, we don't know what political environment remains to be seen. January 19, the candlelight vigil will happen. January 20, this country will see the swearing in of the next president, the return of a previous president to power, and it's just a really interesting time that we're living in. And Dr King was about people coming together, appreciating the diversity that makes each of us the individuals that we are, yet the collective force that we can be. And so I think it's very fitting that we continue to honor him and always honor him was such a contributor to our country as a whole and to the world in its entirety. And so it's really important that we continue to respect the legacy that Dr King established. And having one of the most amazing statues in the country right here at the corner of MLK carry is a really big deal. And then bringing the community together for a candlelight vigil, that vigil that's happening the day before the inauguration of the next President of the United States of America is also very significant. I mean, sometimes we don't think about how things play together, but I think that we should, and we're remiss if we don't,

Speaker 1 13:19
absolutely and then just thinking about, you know, the not giving up, like, how dare I give up, when I think about the life, the struggle, the working on behalf of our civil rights that Martin Luther King did and sacrificed for us, like, how dare I give up? And I think about, you know, his work, and that's what keeps me going, because I know that I stand on the shoulder of giants,

Tanya Flanagan 13:50
you know, fighting for voting rights and things that we are right now today, having conversations at the Supreme Court level about the rights that people in this country have, are the very things that Dr King fought for and we are now, all these years later, having these conversations in a different context. But they're threatened. So we're fighting for them 1965 and before and beyond, and it's 2025 and we're fighting for them again in a different way to keep moving forward. And I think there was a time when I was young, I never thought we would ever be back here having these types of conversations about equality and equal rights. You just you think we're going to evolve and be better, and I'm not saying that we aren't. It's just sometimes mind blowing that we are having similar conversations that were exactly the conversations of old, are still the conversations of today. And then you ask yourself, well, then are we making progress or not, and what does progress look like?

Unknown Speaker 14:47
Exactly? Wow.

Tanya Flanagan 14:51
Are you asking me? What does you anything? I mean, you are welcome. I mean, you know you are a powerful mind yourself. So chime in. On my random life be life in comments as you please. You know, this morning, because,

Speaker 1 15:06
yes, so I think now, like I think about that often, what does progress look like? And I know that people may be in different stages of, how do I help? You know, maybe I'm in fear. I don't know what to do. It's a big sacrifice to really speak up for things that you believe are are right and true. It's it's a uncomfortable to speak about issues that impact your personal life, your community and your families. But I think progress, progress looks like now is just do something, even if you, if you're a person who's gone from not knowing what the issues are, if you just start by starting this year, well, let me research what some of the issues are that are happening in society. Let me issue, research some of the issues that are happening in my community, in my neighborhood, and that's a start, because what that does is that helps you to really begin to understand what people, what your neighbors, and what you yourself may be going through. And for those of us who maybe have you know gone beyond the research, maybe you've never attended a meeting in your community. Maybe you've never attended a city council meeting, or you've never gone to the legislature, or you've never gone to a school board meeting or a county commission meeting. Maybe a start for you could be, hey, I'm going to go to one of these meetings, and, you know, get a feel for what that is like. And for those who go to meetings and maybe you've never participated, maybe your jump or your do something, or your progress to be well, maybe this year, I'll do a public comment, or I'll write a letter on an issue that impacts me or impacts my friends or my neighbors, or something that you're passionate about. And I think that's a great start. So progress for everyone will look different, and I'm always very mindful that the work that I do, I had to build myself up to that point. Like I didn't just say, Oh, I'm gonna go to a school board meeting one day and I'm gonna tell the superintendent about himself, or I'm gonna tell all the school board members, like, what's going on. Like it took time for me to build up that confidence. So I'm always very mindful that there are many reasons why people stay home, why people are not involved, and I'm always very grateful in that place and understanding that it takes time to understand the issues and then feel confident that one you have the power and the voice to make a difference. So that's my urging for us in 2025 is to do something that you've never done before in some way, to be involved in the issues and the decisions that are impacting us on a human level.

Tanya Flanagan 17:56
I appreciate the call to action, and I applaud you for making that call to action and breaking it down in a way that identified something that each person could do with the respect that it takes time to grow, because we're all growing absolutely in our in our call. And I respond to service, and I want to add one more layer to your call to action, and that's community groups or organizations based basically speaking to volunteerism, because there may be a space where you can volunteer or you're interested. So I would say, seek out an organization that aligns with something that you identify with, or a cause that you're concerned with, and attend the meeting or an event or something that they are having, and spend some time finding out what they're about and seeing how you can be of service. And I think a lot of times, people don't always get involved, because you see things happening around you, issues, but you don't always feel like that particular instance or situation affects you directly, and I think it's understanding how you're affected, because things happen and people don't immediately make the connection that that affects me, because it can be education, for example, which is a passionate space for you, or a healthcare issue. If someone is diagnosed with something, then they, you know, immerse themselves in it, to understand what it is, but until it happens to you or a family member, someone that you know, someone that you love. It's just an issue that's out there in the world. Does that make sense? Yes, it does. When it becomes a personal issue, then you educate your cell phone, what is this? And then you start to realize how many people are affected by this. And then you start to feel this tug that. Pulls you into it deeper. I remember when I first got diagnosed with breast cancer. Okay, it was my thing. I got diagnosed with breast cancer. I was young. I wanted to get in, get out. Dr fix said, Let me keep moving. Then the second diagnosis came with breast cancer. I was very busy doing some community work, working at the Urban League and the young professionals group and a number of other capacities. I was working in the community. The third one, I said, Okay, wait. The second one actually made me pause, because I got a diagnosis of the same type of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma, inside two stage zero, second time in the same breast, in basically the same location in the breast, and I recognize how often women would be diagnosed, but the second diagnosis would be worse than the first. So to have the same stage zero ductal carcinoma in situ, which means the cancer cells were contained, in my case, confined in a milk duck. So basically, you have a number of milk ducks around the areola of a breast, and if you remove that milk deck, you remove that breast cancer, and none of the rest of my breast was impacted. I could just keep going on about my business. I could consider radiation if I wanted to. It would be recommended, and it was maybe go on Tamoxifen. It was recommended. It was recommended. I declined both because of my age, but essentially removing that milk deck meant I was removing the problem. So when the third diagnosis came and things that got a little bit more out of hand, I paused, and I said, Well, wait a minute, what does God want me to do with my life? What is and I remember having judge Melinda T Harris on and she talked about her space in this journey where she realized, what is this purpose, what is this call, what is the tug? What does God want me to do? Because this has happened, so I kind of woke up and said, What do you want me to do that helps other people? And that was when I sought out Susan G komen of Nevada, the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer organization to get involved, partly because my mother went through and I went through with my mom. Nurses came to our home, hospice care nurses and those people with organizations such as komen, and they were very giving and very supportive. So I thought I wanted to give back, but because it became so personalized and exponentially affected my life when it became the third diagnosis and it was spreading and chemo was on the table, I said, What do you want me to do? And I began to realize how many families were affected, but didn't know what to do, where to turn, how to get resources, how to get help, what conversations, what questions to ask in our communities, especially our black, brown communities, are women of color, and it it, it's I got deeply involved and sucked into taking every opportunity and any opportunity to have a conversation if I thought the educational information I could provide would help Someone have a better chance of saving their life or navigating the space better, and I just it became my call to action.

Unknown Speaker 23:10
Oh, I love that,

Tanya Flanagan 23:13
you know, I love that. I didn't intend for it. I didn't intend to become the poster child, but I began to feel like the poster child of breast cancer, and it's okay, right? And what I love about Judge T Harris is it's she always, to me, sends the message that it's okay to be perfectly imperfect, because I'm enough. And I think as we walk into 2025 the many spaces we're going to discover across a number of different issues. We're perfectly imperfect. You are human and beautifully made, unique in your own right, with your own qualities, and perfectly imperfect, and that means you're enough, exactly. And I think that is one of the greatest messages to march into 2025 shouting whether you're trying to lose weight, get better time management, improve on a job, get more exercise, perfectly imperfect, elevate on the job, whatever it is, you know, and I think your message of call to action, challenging ourselves to do something other than what we've always done. Absolutely, you know, do something resonates with me from the speech that former First Lady Michelle Obama made during the convention, do something. And yes, that was about an election, but I think it can be a message that's carried on to apply to any aspect of life where you want to enhance and improve yourself and your outcome.

Speaker 1 24:50
Yeah, I love that. And when I think about perfection, that's definitely something that I struggle with, because clearly my mom names me, my name. Means perfection, the perfect one. And I'm like, goodness, I battle with that all the time, because I am really very like, once I set a goal, it's like, Oh, my goodness, I have to do it this way. I have to make sure that it's right. And that's not it. Like, sometimes we're going to fail, and that's okay, because we learn from that. It's not always going to be perfect. It may not look the way you want it to look, but I've learned, and I have to every day remind myself that exactly what you said, like we're perfectly imperfect, and it's okay. Mm

Tanya Flanagan 25:31
hmm, because I am enough. I think jelly roll has a song, and I love the song that he has that talks about waking up and it's not a good day, but it's going to be okay. And, I mean, it's a really phenomenal story that he tells in the song that he sings. It's just great. But for those of you who want to, you know, chat with us a little bit more in your down time, or you have a question, or you're curious about how you can get involved, get engaged in different groups, and what they do, how to reach them. I am on all my social media handles by my name, Tanya Flanagan, except on Instagram it is Tanya Flanagan ad seven. But Facebook, it's Tanya Flanagan and Twitter, it's Tanya Flanagan so Camila.

Speaker 1 26:16
And if you if you would like to keep in touch with me or learn more about how you can be involved. You can find me on all social media platforms under Camila bywaters, and I'm on Tiktok, y'all. I'm on Tiktok as Camila bywaters Three. So you're invited to find me there. I also have a website, Camila for nevadans.com, and you can also just get some information about me. But I would love for you to look me up if you're interested, and you you're welcome to ask. I'm an open book, so you can ask me anything that you need to know to help to reach your goals and accomplish what you're interested in.

Tanya Flanagan 26:58
Absolutely. So I want to thank you for always being so willing to be here and be a part of conversations on a scoop, and thank you for having thank you for thank you so much for being such an influence in the community. I'm getting older, so I love to see you young people who are flush with energy to run these races and do 234, and five different projects at a time. I think as you get older, as you get older, you just begin to target, and you are mindful that the bandwidth is shorter and it has to be used more wisely. Some people would say, I'm absolutely wrong, and I'm still doing 15 things at once, and to a degree, I am, but I think that I'm a little bit more targeted and focused in how I do it. But today I just, I don't know, gone through this week, and it just felt like, you know, as the kids say, life be life and and a week ago, I was at church, and one of the church members hugged me, and I could see her face during the service, and she was, you know, a little teary eyed, doing a prayer, and I gave her a hug, and I said, are you okay? And she said, you know, life be life. And I said, Girl, don't it? So it just came to my mind today to talk about some of the challenges, but the resiliency that we have, and the fortitude with which we face the challenges in our lives, and realizing that we're only 12 days into the year. So it's it's a marathon, it's not a sprint. And a lot of great things are happening in the community, and we're gearing up for them. So as we cruise toward this Martin Luther King Jr, holiday, I hope that the vigil is a great success. I absolutely forward to trying to get out there myself to be supportive of it. You. And I just want to thank you for all that you are doing to stay engaged and for sharing a little bit about who you are honestly and transparently.

Unknown Speaker 28:49
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Tanya Flanagan 28:52
Well, I wish you continued health, wealth, love and happiness, and I will see you on the other side. Folks, have a great week. Thank you for tuning in to programs here at 91.5k U, M, B, jazz and more, we appreciate you. I hope you appreciate us and continue to show your love and appreciate others until next time. Bye for now, I want to thank you for tuning in to the scoop with me. Tonya Flanagan, and I want to invite you to get social with me. I'm on Facebook and Twitter. My name is my handle, T, a n, y, A F, l, a n, a G, A N. You can also find me on Instagram at Tanya almond eyes Flanagan, and if you have a thought, an opinion or a suggestion, don't hesitate to shoot me an email to tonya.flanagan@unlv.edu Thanks again for joining in stay safe and have a great week. You.