Archive

Alumna Candace Blas has always valued community outreach and engagement. Her passion is put to good use in her role as manager of the Church of Love — a cultural hub and neighborhood center located in the heart of Spenard.

This summer, record-holding track and field sprinter and anthropology senior Nicholas Taylor embarked on his first archaeological dig at the historic Swan Lake, the oldest identified human site in North America, estimated to be 14,200 years old.

A staple of the Anchorage theater scene and a longtime teacher, UAA alumnus David Block is the founder of Midnight Sun Theatre and Aether Education. This summer, Block premiered his latest production, “Dr. Fortean’s Klondike Gold Elixir and Wild Big Alaska Show!"

When journalism senior Samantha Davenport first came to UAA she was unsure of where life would take her. But after applying to the student newspaper on a whim, she not only found a great group of lifelong friends, but also, unexpectedly, the road to her career.

Lifelong swimmer and UAA English alumna Bridget Simpson will swim the 32-mile Lake George in New York in a tag team relay with fellow swimmer Louise Rourke. The swim aims to raise awareness for polio eradication, a disease Rourke contracted when she was six months old.

Incoming engineering student Birch Boyer has an impressive background in robotics. A recipient of the 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, Boyer spent his summer teaching for the UAA Summer Engineering Academies, and looks forward to starting his college career as a Seawolf.

Britt’Nee Brower is an Inupiat artist, occupational safety and health alumna and current Native arts major. Her work combines traditional Inupiat elements with contemporary trends. She recently released a coloring book, titled Names of Animals, in an effort to preserve the Inupiat language.

Mackenzie Miller describes her whole life revolving around gymnastics. Born to gymnastic coaches and practically raised in their gym, she was recently voted Team MVP and has trained to become an all-around competitor while majoring in accounting and earning a 4.0 GPA.

In the age of peak TV, people of color are still underrepresented. UAA alumna Princess Daazhraii Johnson hopes to change that with the upcoming PBS KIDS show Molly of Denali, the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature an Alaska Native lead character.

It's been an eventful year for Alvin Amason, a Sugpiaq painter and sculptor and the founder of UAA’s Alaska Native Art program. Amason was awarded the Governor’s Arts and Humanities Award for an Individual Artist and the Rasmuson Foundation's Distinguished Artist title, all before summer.