We have amazing students at UAA and each spring we celebrate their accomplishments by selecting one from each department for recognition and to receive a $1000 excellence scholarship. We are grateful for the many philanthropic contributors to Department and College Excellence funds that allow us to provide these scholarships to these exceptional students. We chose Biology recipient Maggie Gibson to highlight here as, like many of our students, she combines coursework with external research experiences, a full time job, and volunteer experiences. Read on to learn more about Maggie’s research with the USGS, her dental experience, and how the two are related. We also highlight alumni, Nick Armstrong-Crews, who was a computer science, mathematics and natural sciences major at UAA. Nick too had research experiences, which he says prepared him for graduate school, and internships which gave him good work experience. Nick is one of the lead designers of self-driving cars for a company you might have heard of, Google. Nick spoke to us from his home in California; we didn’t suggest a trip up the Alcan in one of his cars. Nick, like many of our alumni, are using the foundational knowledge obtained at UAA to do great things.

Lastly, I am excited to announce the 24-25 CAS Community Lecture Series. We designed this series to provide Alaskans with events and speakers that challenge, teach, and promote dialogue.  We are bringing in nationally known speakers such as Liz Cheney and Melissa Block as well as showcasing Alaskans such as Seth Kantner and Mr. Whitekeys. Several events will also include CAS faculty. The CAS Community Lecture Series brings the world to Alaska and Alaska to the world. Please join us as we celebrate knowledge, inspire curiosity, and strengthen the bonds that make our community unique. Save the date for these lectures, and stay tuned for the announcement of ticket sales coming soon.