Valley alum a Major help to her students

     By W.G. Ramirez
     View staff writer
      Although she has three names, there really only needs to be two.
      Just say Emma Jean, and everyone will know who you're speaking about.
      Now in her 19th year with the Clark County School District, Emma Jean Major has become as popular throughout the district as she has in and out of the hallways of K.O. Knudson Middle School, where she is a physical education teacher.
      "She is a person who is dedicated to young people," said West Middle School principal Andre Denson, a colleague of Major's in the Southern Nevada Officials Association. "Her whole life centers around, and always has been in trying to, assist young people. That goes back to her days at Valley High School."
      As a P.E. teacher and as a student.
      Major came to Southern Nevada in 1963 after growing up in Arkansas.
      Living in the Southeast area, she became a standout athlete for the Vikings in volleyball, basketball and track and field.
      After graduating from Valley in 1972, Major decided to attend UNLV, where she became a member of the school's first women's basketball team.
      With the Rebels from 1974-76, Major played alongside multi-record holder Debra Waddy and began a winning tradition, as UNLV went 34-12 in Major's two seasons.
      Major took some time off from school in the late 70s and had two children, but eventually received her degree.
      She then returned to Valley, joining the P.E. department and immediately jumping into the coaching ranks as an assistant in the girls' program.
      "That was one of my goals, to be one of the first one's back to teach at Valley," said Major, now a Green Valley resident. "I wanted to go back and give the students what I didn't get. It's the major reason I became a P.E. teacher and a coach, to give what I didn't get.
      "I wanted the students to know that I care and I want them to be the best they can be. I just want them to know whatever they would do, as long as they gave 100 percent and they felt they gave 100 percent, then I was happy."
      Major admitted there was some adjusting to do when she first arrived, especially since she was close in age to her students.
      "Learning to separate myself from them and keeping my profession in perspective, it was easy to do," she said. "By me getting there, I had to perform as a teacher where my students could respect me."
      Her outspoken ways and up-front disposition commanded respect from her students and players, yet at times, which she is not afraid to admit, it was her vocal nature that may have ruffled some feathers.
      Calling herself "a for-real person," Major called it the way she saw it.
      "She is very straight-forward," Denson said. "She's real and people know she is real. People don't have to worry about what's on her mind. The nice side of that, though, is she is very supportive and very receptive of individuals' concerns."
      Those sentiments were echoed by Cimarron-Memorial principal Ken Bedrosian, who was the athletic administrator at Valley from 1985-91.
      "Her style was a bit unorthodox, but she cared a lot for her kids," Bedrosian said. "Emma Jean worked real hard for her kids."
      After 14 years at her alma mater, Major decided to take her coaching skills to the college level and accepted a position as assistant coach at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala.
      Simply looking for a challenge with a higher caliber of basketball, Major said she received plenty of insight -- not only with college hoops, but also about living in the South.
      "It really enlightened me to a whole new avenue of people," she said. "I saw a different lifestyle down there. The people are just very warm."
      During her time spent in the South, however, Major was slapped with a bit of reality during a road trip to Florida.
      "I saw the cotton fields and never really saw them before," she said. "I knew of it, but I hadn't been involved. It really brought back memories because my mom was in the cotton fields."
      Feeling as if she fulfilled her goal, Major was ready to return home.
      But upon arrival, she reentered the district at the middle school level and accepted the position at Knudson.
      "I miss the high school level of teaching and having a rapport with the (kids)," she said. "High school is a little more advanced compared to the middle school. Coaching, I don't miss it; but I do. Right now I'm pursuing another profession; that's where my heart is."
      Major is still involved with basketball as a member of the Southern Nevada Officials Association. Her next goal is to become an official at the NCAA Division I level.
      Similar to her coaching move to Tuskegee, Major sees the lateral move to referee as a challenge to officiate a higher level of basketball.
      Although it's still high school, Major said she received a big break when fellow official Mike McWilliams and Clark County School District director of athletics Larry McKay brought her on board to help officiate games of the Holiday Prep Classic in December.
      "It really did expand my knowledge ... it was great being a part of the Prep Classic," she said. "Overall, refereeing has been a challenge to come from a player, from being a coach and now (as) an official. I've been there in every aspect."
      And in every aspect she has been a part of many youths who have gone through the district over the past two decades.
      She experienced plenty of ups and downs, but it's that roller coaster ride that has kept her going, she said.
      "Within the 19 years, I've grown, and within my 19 years, I'm glad I've been in this community," she said. "I really love the kids; I've always told them whenever you need me I'll be here for you." Everybody won't be on top, but that's OK. It's OK to fail, but as long as you don't continue to make the same mistakes. My grandmother told me, `It takes nothing to be nobody, but it takes a little to be somebody,' and I take that and I run with it."