Archive

As a high school student, Xavier Mason kept to himself. At UAA, however, he has excelled in academics, immersed himself in the tasks involved in becoming a leader and social entrepreneur and will deliver the student speech at the upcoming 2015 Spring Commencement.

She turned her coursework into a career. Sarah Mobley led Phase I of the largest engineering project in Alaska State Parks history—a campground designed by her and her classmates during their senior project at UAA. Now, she's taking her talents to South Florida for a Ph.D. in civil engineering.

Crystal Lemieux cried after moving from her coastal hometown to attend college in Anchorage. Six years later, she's living a life she created that's rich with possibility and experiences she will carry with her after she graduates.

When she learned her family was moving from the Dominican Republic to Anchorage, a young Nayade Perez promptly shredded her passport. She's now spent the majority of her life up North and recently earned a Student Diversity Award for her work helping UAA's latest arrivals adjust to life in Alaska.

Pedro Melgar graduated from high school in Peru before moving to Anchorage with his family. Rather than complete high school all over again in the States, he enrolled at UAA and launched into a nursing career that's led him to unit manager for intensive care at Alaska Native Medical Center.

When she's not in science classes, this UAA senior spends her hours volunteering and scribing at Providence and in UAA's simulation lab, co-helming UAA's ASMA chapter and doing cancer research. Meet Rachel Shercliffe.

Adam Ahonen—or Mr. A, as he's known in the halls of Service High School—has built an impressive program over the past decade, using the entire city of Anchorage as a giant active classroom to prepare his special needs students for success and independence.

Andrew Freed II uses films, radio and discussion forums to help people learn about each other and educate them about 'the black perspective' on issues he finds important. He recently won a 2015 Spring Student Diversity Award for his efforts to grow diversity on campus.

Sophomore and Active Minds volunteer Elizabeth Williams heads to D.C. for leadership training in supporting the mental health conversation on college campuses.

UAA's Diversity Action Council named Maria Crouch as one of its 2015 Spring Student Diversity Award winners because of her brave editorial celebrating how the diverse facets of her multicultural background—Athabascan, Mexican, Scandinavian and bisexual—have enriched her life.