Fall 2014: Welcoming a new generation of UAA scholars with Freshman Convocation and Campus Kick-Off

Kivalina Grove will be a senior this year, but she still remembers what it was like to be a freshman. Honestly, she said, it was a little intimidating attending Freshman Convocation with an auditorium full of strangers. But the Anchorage-raised scholar came away inspired to start her studies that have taken her from reticent freshman to award-winning undergraduate researcher.

"I went to the dessert social after Freshman Convocation and kind of timidly went around and met all the people. Everybody was really nice," she said. Afterward, she made the rounds at Campus Kick-Off and began what would become an annual tradition-taking in the midnight movie with new and returning students. She laughed when she offered this pro-tip for newbies: "Bring a blanket to the movie! That's my advice for freshmen. I froze that first year."

Grove, an Honors College psychology major with statistics and mathematics minors, will be emceeing Freshman Convocation on Saturday, Aug. 23. As a senior who is planning a career in scientific research, applying to Ph.D. programs around the country in the next couple weeks, Grove is truly excited to meet and introduce this year's keynote speaker, Melody Swartz, Ph.D.

Every year, the Honors College selects a speaker at the forefront of his or her field to give the keynote address to students and this year students will hear from Dr. Swartz, a bioengineer who is unlocking the secrets of adaptive immunity related to the lymphatic system and helping the scientific community understand the way cancer moves through the body. Swartz is a professor in the Institute of Molecular Engineering at University of Chicago and was awarded a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship in 2012 for her work.

"I can't wait to hear her speak," said Grove. "I listened to one of her talks. Of course, she's this amazing person with an impressive résumé, but she still had this emphasis on students and she was really concerned about reaching out to students and making sure the student is gaining this knowledge and not just the person with the Ph.D. I think she'll be really inspiring."

Swartz will also deliver a free public lecture on Sunday, Aug. 24, open to everyone. Pay a visit to campus on Sunday (parking is free) at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Cafeteria and hear her keynote address, "Immunoengineering: A New Approach to Cancer Research and Beyond."

A full slate of activities on Saturday

Saturday will be a full day for students, parents and alumni alike. After freshmen attend Convocation with Swartz (3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium), they are invited to a dessert social (4:30-5:30 p.m. in Cuddy Hall). At the same time, parents of new and returning students are invited to join alumni at a reception in the Rasmuson Hall Lobby. Campus Kick-Off in the Cuddy Quad starts at 5 p.m., with events slated through 2 a.m. on Aug. 24. For the full list of events, visit the Kick-Off webpage.

For students in the on-campus residence community, UAA's Residence Life staffers have planned a host of Welcome Week activities. To get in on the fun and get to know your campus neighbors, check the Residence Life website for an updated schedule of events.

First comes Convocation, then you write your own story

Freshman Convocation is only the first opportunity new students have to be inspired on campus. Grove would tell you the opportunities just keep coming.

Alaska girl Kivalina Grove is forever glad she gave her hometown university a second look. Graduating in the top tier of her class at Polaris made her eligible for awards as a UA Scholar and through the Alaska Performance Scholarship that, in combination with a scholarship from the Honors College, will make it possible for her to graduate debt-free in May.

"I'm getting paid to go to school, so I'm actually saving money for graduate school, which is great," she said. "I came to UAA for that reason and I've been so impressed by the professors and classes I've taken. I have friends in the Lower 48 who are complaining about TAs teaching the classes they're taking. I've never had a TA teach a single class. They've all been Ph.D. professors."

'Pregnancy brain' and 'brain training'

In the last few years, she's also had a chance to work closely on an undergraduate research project with two professors, Dr. Gwen Lupfer and Dr. Claudia Lampman, who inspired her to come on board as a psychology major.

"We're researching 'pregnancy brain,' which is this implicit stereotype we have that women who are pregnant are stupid," said Grove. "And there's really no research to back it up, so it's just this unfounded stereotype."

She presented her findings at the Behavioral Science Conference of the North and won the award for best undergraduate research presentation.

Grove's psychology study has dovetailed with her job outside of school, too. She works for her dad, a naturopathic doctor, in his practice.

"I work in what we call the brain lab," she said. "We work with people on the autism spectrum or people with traumatic brain injuries or people who want to better their brain in some way."

She's seen these "brain training" sessions, which track brain function with an EEG, raise IQ scores in participants as well as help them gain better emotional control and, in one of the most memorable instances, help a non-verbal child gain some speech.

"It's cool to see the transformations," she said. They underscore for her the human brain's amazing plasticity. She'll be sad to leave her job behind when she heads off to graduate school, but she's ready for her next chapter.

Her one problem? Deciding where to turn her focus in her graduate psychology studies. At UAA, each new psychology class has become her favorite. This, she'll think, this is what I want to study. Then there's a new class that absorbs her the following semester.

"I guess that's a good problem to have," she said with a laugh. She has a few more months to work it out with mentors in her last year at UAA.

Until then, she's ready to offer tips and advice to incoming students, particularly about Honors College classes, undergraduate research and "Don't Miss" events like Freshman Convocation and Campus Kick-Off.

Written by Jamie Gonzales, UAA Office of University Advancement