Archive

As frost and football descend on the nation, most Americans are content enjoying their hard-earned lazy Sundays. But for former cross-country standout Yon Yilma, Sundays are the perfect day for a 22-mile run. Every Sunday. Even when his Seahawks are playing.

Virginia, among this year's Alumni of Distinction, co-founded the UAA College of Engineering Alumni chapter last year and now oversees the group’s ambitious goals as president. She'll be recognized at the Green & Gold Gala on Saturday, Sept. 27.

As director of the National Weather Service’s Alaska Region, Aimee Devaris has been blamed for rainy camping trips and, on the flip side, thanked for a sunny wedding day. Either way, she rolls with it and can laugh about the misconception that she, personally, is in charge of Alaska’s volatile seas and skies.

She grew up in Anchorage with parents who came from Colombia, feels she was born to be a journalist, and will be required to learn French for her next challenge: spending two years in Burkina Faso. Meet Alejandra Buitrago.

Dylan Anthony will be among the leaders for the men’s cross-country team this year. He’s one of two seniors on the squad, and a (relatively) local runner on a roster where Kenyans outnumber Alaskans 4-to-3.

All-American Katelynn Zanders is ready for the season ahead, even though the volleyball team is still (temporarily) practicing through the final stages of construction on the new Alaska Airlines Center.

Science education professor Irasema Ortega, despite her years of experience as a teacher, is still willing to sit at the feet of her new colleagues and friends to learn about new cultures and places. This summer she learned to use an ulu with a mentor at fish camp.

The seven-year-old “UAA Bike Club” stickers haven’t lost their green and gold shine just yet. The vivid stickers pop out throughout the workspace at Off the Chain, an Anchorage-based bicycle cooperative and growing city resource that owes much of its early momentum to the now-defunct group at UAA.

Twelve years ago, his fleet feet propelled him to national championships. Now, he's growing a sense of community through his Portland, Ore., running stores. Meet Sean Rivers.

Weddings are glamorous. Opening a small business is not. But that didn't stop Tara Gondek from taking the plunge and opening her own bridal boutique in Anchorage last fall.