Hey All,
As many readers out there may or may not know, UAF is a triple crown institution: Land, Sea and Space grant. As a Space grant institution, there is some very exciting research is going on with relation to space and the atmosphere at UAF, and our students are able to be involved. We're also the only school in the world that owns its own rocket range, Poker Flats, so our students and faculty can build and launch rockets to gather data from the atmosphere. We're hoping to launch a satellite sometime soon, so then we'll have the only University owned satellite launching range ^_^
This year, for students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math and some other programs will have an opportunity to apply for NASA internships and for a NASA Academy. So, for students interested in learning more about NASA and maybe laying the ground work to work for them after graduation, check out the application process here.
How cool is that, seriously? Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
Joe Alloway, Admissions Counselor
Monday, December 7, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Power Shift West '09
Power Shift West 2009 is a conference campaign and this year its focuses included energy issues, climate change, and the Senate Committee Climate Bill for Copenhagen negotiations December 2009. The bigger picture that Power Shift paints is to educate, motivate, and organize young people in the United States. It works to bring together young leaders to discuss pressing issues, to share ideas, knowledge, and send them back to their own communities to be stronger leaders and organizers. Power Shift focuses on bottom up approaches to local community solutions.
A few of the organizations that hosted and supported this conference were Sierra Student Coalition, Energy Action Coalition, and the Earth Island Institute. It consisted of panels, workshops, and breakout group sessions. Panels addressed issues such as climate justice, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Panels of guest speakers from a variety of fields briefly discussed their issues and then open the floor to question and answer sessions. I learned some easy ways to conserve energy such as plugging out appliances when not in use and using a power strip and turn it off to cut the flow of electricity. I also learned about toxic affects of coal on human health and the environment and mountain top removal in Appalachia which carries environmental justice issues, along with other social and political components to coal mining and their communities. There was even a panel speaker, Emily Farenbacher, from Sierra Club in Anchorage Alaska, who discussed energy, coal, and climate change in Alaska.
In workshops students had the opportunity to gain new skills and understanding on a variety of topics which they could hopefully use back at home. Some topics were campaign planning, coalition building, fundraising, and other organizational and leadership skills. There were all levels of activists at the conference which provided an opportunity to work among student peers to share knowledge and ideas between campuses.
A few of the Keynote speakers included Rikki Ott, an activist and author of Sound Truth and Corporate Myth: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Another keynote speaker was Dan Carol, he served as the Content and Issues Director in Chicago for the Obama Campaign. Formerly, Carol was an environmental and energy budget analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.
At the end of the conference students had breakout sessions where we gathered by region to discuss issues specific to our areas. Then we worked together to design an action plan to try and begin to address issues which affect our home state. The conference ended with a parade of solutions where students rode bicycles, dressed as polar bears, and carried windmills and banners.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Alpha Phi Omega Region Conference in Eugene
This past weekend I had the opportunity with another brother and a pledge from UAF to visit the University of Oregon, Zeta Psi chapter for a Region 11 conference for Alpha Phi Omega. For those of you who don't know, APO is a National Co-Ed Service Fraternity. There are tons of schools with a chapter. We love to do service. Our other focuses are developing leadership and friendships.
I arrived early Friday morning to pouring rain with two other brothers from Alaska, one from Fairbanks and the other from Anchorage. Since most of the brothers at UO had class, the three of us gave ourselves a campus tour. I was amazed at how many building that campus has! We visited their Duck Store (the bookstore), which was huge! After wandering around campus for awhile, we went back to the E.M.U. (the student union center [I forgot the official name of it]) and we were just in time for some live entertainment from three different a cappella groups. My favorite was On the Rocks!
Shortly after the performances the conference began with dinner and mingling. We had lasagna! Yum... There were crazy conversation starters and it was a lot of fun. After that we visited an ice cream shop in Eugene called Prince Puckler's. MMMM that was soooo tasty! And our entertainment for the evening was bowling! The first game was terrible for me, but in the second game I think I got my all time record of 104! The Anchorage brother had like 5 strikes in a row next to me. By the end of bowling, I was exhausted... I had been up since 7 am the day before.... darn red-eye flights.
Saturday, we were up early for a region business meeting, followed by service projects. But after breakfast and before the meeting, we played an ice breaker called Street Fighter. I can't explain it, but here are a couple pictures:
We could choose from either visiting a youth homeless shelter and helping sanitize everything or helping UO's Student Coalition in registering people to vote. I chose to help sanitize the homeless shelter, since politics aren't really my thing. It was nice to know that there was somewhere for the youth to go and get a warm meal and place to sleep, but it was upsetting that there are a lot of homeless youth in Eugene.
When we got back, we had an entertaining risk management "training" (review/whatever you want to call it). This was done by APO's National President, Maggie Katz! I love that she isn't a crazy strict person and understands that we are college students and all we want to do is have fun! She definitely wasn't there to kill our fun, just to remind us to be careful and take care of each other while doing so. Then we had an advisor recruitment session followed by lunch. During my lunch, since I am the president, I had to go to a confidential meeting that determined this years region winners of three awards: leadership, friendship and service.
In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to participate in APO LEADS courses. Launch, Explore, Achieve, Discover and Serve are the 5 courses. Available this weekend were Launch and Discover. It was really interesting and I had a blast improving my leadership skills.
We had a short break to change for the awards banquet dinner. That was the most tasty meal of the whole trip! My chapter won the Friendship award, Zeta Psi won the Leadership award and Alpha Zeta Eta won the Service award. That was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my entire life. Following dinner, we had a "Halloween Mixer." It was part dance, part costume contest, part charades and part just fun!
In the morning we received parting gifts and said good bye. But all of the Alaska Brothers itineraries left in the evening so we spent quite a bit of time with Zeta Psi brothers and saw a bit more of Eugene. We had lunch at Cornucopia. I'm pretty sure that was the best burger I've ever had in my life. After resting and digesting that some, we went to Sweet Life. OMG, I had a chocolate silk cake that was pretty amazing and I brought home an eclair which was also to die for.
After wandering around Eugene a little more and getting to know my brothers more, it was time to depart :(
I'm really glad I went, and can't wait to visit my brothers again!
I arrived early Friday morning to pouring rain with two other brothers from Alaska, one from Fairbanks and the other from Anchorage. Since most of the brothers at UO had class, the three of us gave ourselves a campus tour. I was amazed at how many building that campus has! We visited their Duck Store (the bookstore), which was huge! After wandering around campus for awhile, we went back to the E.M.U. (the student union center [I forgot the official name of it]) and we were just in time for some live entertainment from three different a cappella groups. My favorite was On the Rocks!
Shortly after the performances the conference began with dinner and mingling. We had lasagna! Yum... There were crazy conversation starters and it was a lot of fun. After that we visited an ice cream shop in Eugene called Prince Puckler's. MMMM that was soooo tasty! And our entertainment for the evening was bowling! The first game was terrible for me, but in the second game I think I got my all time record of 104! The Anchorage brother had like 5 strikes in a row next to me. By the end of bowling, I was exhausted... I had been up since 7 am the day before.... darn red-eye flights.
Saturday, we were up early for a region business meeting, followed by service projects. But after breakfast and before the meeting, we played an ice breaker called Street Fighter. I can't explain it, but here are a couple pictures:
We could choose from either visiting a youth homeless shelter and helping sanitize everything or helping UO's Student Coalition in registering people to vote. I chose to help sanitize the homeless shelter, since politics aren't really my thing. It was nice to know that there was somewhere for the youth to go and get a warm meal and place to sleep, but it was upsetting that there are a lot of homeless youth in Eugene.
When we got back, we had an entertaining risk management "training" (review/whatever you want to call it). This was done by APO's National President, Maggie Katz! I love that she isn't a crazy strict person and understands that we are college students and all we want to do is have fun! She definitely wasn't there to kill our fun, just to remind us to be careful and take care of each other while doing so. Then we had an advisor recruitment session followed by lunch. During my lunch, since I am the president, I had to go to a confidential meeting that determined this years region winners of three awards: leadership, friendship and service.
In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to participate in APO LEADS courses. Launch, Explore, Achieve, Discover and Serve are the 5 courses. Available this weekend were Launch and Discover. It was really interesting and I had a blast improving my leadership skills.
We had a short break to change for the awards banquet dinner. That was the most tasty meal of the whole trip! My chapter won the Friendship award, Zeta Psi won the Leadership award and Alpha Zeta Eta won the Service award. That was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my entire life. Following dinner, we had a "Halloween Mixer." It was part dance, part costume contest, part charades and part just fun!
In the morning we received parting gifts and said good bye. But all of the Alaska Brothers itineraries left in the evening so we spent quite a bit of time with Zeta Psi brothers and saw a bit more of Eugene. We had lunch at Cornucopia. I'm pretty sure that was the best burger I've ever had in my life. After resting and digesting that some, we went to Sweet Life. OMG, I had a chocolate silk cake that was pretty amazing and I brought home an eclair which was also to die for.
After wandering around Eugene a little more and getting to know my brothers more, it was time to depart :(
I'm really glad I went, and can't wait to visit my brothers again!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
More Halloween Fun at UAF!
Hello Fiendish Fiends and Ghoulish Ghouls,
Yes indeed, another Halloween has come and gone. It was a fun one here at UAF. As you may have noticed, we thrilled the World, we did the great cover up, and for me . . . I dressed as the Riddler and made Homestar Runner pumpkins. It's the little things about the holidays at UAF that make it so much fun. Like the fact that there are so many things to do, and so many opportunities out there. Whatever you're into, you can express it at UAF, and that's really important when you're considering a college, eh? UAF has traditions, too, which are a lot like UAF holidays!
Holidays are always fun, and we always look forward to the next one. For Thanksgiving, the UAF Outdoor Adventures Office is going hiking in the mountains and they're going to cook a turkey on a cabin cook stove. Perfect! That's so Alaskan!
Below I've included some of the photos I took and that were taken of me and by me during the halloween festivities. Enjoy, and I'll be back to posting soon!
Sincerely,
Joe Alloway
UAF Admissions Counselor
Alumnus '07, '08
My wife Erin and I on the stair, posing in our costumes. Erin is Lulu from FF X, and I'm . . . The Riddler!
A group photo, Erin and our neighbors at the Halloween dance. 
Senor Cardgage and a Duck. Truly, the greatest of pumpkins.
These are the pumpkins out neighbors did. I think they're both a little on the creepy side . . .
Yes indeed, another Halloween has come and gone. It was a fun one here at UAF. As you may have noticed, we thrilled the World, we did the great cover up, and for me . . . I dressed as the Riddler and made Homestar Runner pumpkins. It's the little things about the holidays at UAF that make it so much fun. Like the fact that there are so many things to do, and so many opportunities out there. Whatever you're into, you can express it at UAF, and that's really important when you're considering a college, eh? UAF has traditions, too, which are a lot like UAF holidays!
Holidays are always fun, and we always look forward to the next one. For Thanksgiving, the UAF Outdoor Adventures Office is going hiking in the mountains and they're going to cook a turkey on a cabin cook stove. Perfect! That's so Alaskan!
Below I've included some of the photos I took and that were taken of me and by me during the halloween festivities. Enjoy, and I'll be back to posting soon!
Sincerely,
Joe Alloway
UAF Admissions Counselor
Alumnus '07, '08
My wife Erin and I on the stair, posing in our costumes. Erin is Lulu from FF X, and I'm . . . The Riddler! A group photo, Erin and our neighbors at the Halloween dance. Senor Cardgage and a Duck. Truly, the greatest of pumpkins. These are the pumpkins out neighbors did. I think they're both a little on the creepy side . . . Friday, October 23, 2009
10th annual leadership conference!
This last weekend was the leadership conference put in by the L.I.V.E office (leadership involvement and volunteer experience)! It was my first conference attended and the first conference I helped plan. When I was hired as the leadership assistant last spring I was told I would have to plan a conference, yea.. right.
But it happened! And it went off basically without a hitch. We had about 12 different workshops, which participants picked 3 to attend. Our keynote speaker was amazing. We were really exited to have him up from Colorado and I think his speech spoke to everyone at the conference. It was a great reminder on why we are leaders and what it means to have character and integrity.
The food was great, the company was entertaining, the information was valuable and I'm ready to go for next year! October! Mark your calenders!
But it happened! And it went off basically without a hitch. We had about 12 different workshops, which participants picked 3 to attend. Our keynote speaker was amazing. We were really exited to have him up from Colorado and I think his speech spoke to everyone at the conference. It was a great reminder on why we are leaders and what it means to have character and integrity.
The food was great, the company was entertaining, the information was valuable and I'm ready to go for next year! October! Mark your calenders!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Alaska Nanook Pep Band!
Hey Band Geeks!
I love playing in the Alaska Nanook Pep Band! Let me give you the run down. In Fairbanks, we lack a football team, so unfortunately we don't have a marching band. But, we do have mens hockey, which is another awesome sport. So, that's who we cheer on! We also play for our basketball teams (both men and women) and our ladies volleyball team! Hopefully, in the future, we'll play for our ladies hockey team (they are just a club right now, but they want to be a NCAA team eventually) as well!
In the past, we've had a smaller group, but this year, we have 46 members! Who doesn't love being loud, playing music that everyone recognizes and having tons of school spirit?! I certainly do. Here's a picture to prove our spirit!
We've done some upgrades to the uniform this year too!
We went from this.... in the lovely gold shirts with nothing on the back
To the awesome blue shirts with a upgraded front logo and the Alaska Nanooks A on the back!!
Our director is a pretty awesome grad student from the UAF Music Department, Hannah Johnston.
So, if you play a pep band instrument and are coming to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, come out and play with us! Or cheer for us if you don't play anything.
Mercedes
tenor saxes for life! :)
I love playing in the Alaska Nanook Pep Band! Let me give you the run down. In Fairbanks, we lack a football team, so unfortunately we don't have a marching band. But, we do have mens hockey, which is another awesome sport. So, that's who we cheer on! We also play for our basketball teams (both men and women) and our ladies volleyball team! Hopefully, in the future, we'll play for our ladies hockey team (they are just a club right now, but they want to be a NCAA team eventually) as well!
In the past, we've had a smaller group, but this year, we have 46 members! Who doesn't love being loud, playing music that everyone recognizes and having tons of school spirit?! I certainly do. Here's a picture to prove our spirit!
even the mascot wants to play trumpet!
We've done some upgrades to the uniform this year too!
Our director is a pretty awesome grad student from the UAF Music Department, Hannah Johnston.
So, if you play a pep band instrument and are coming to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, come out and play with us! Or cheer for us if you don't play anything.
Mercedes
tenor saxes for life! :)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
24 Hour Comic day in Fairbanks!
Hey True Believers,
If you didn't know, today is the fourth 24 hour comic day across the world. Fairbanks is right there in the mix, with our third year in this event. Contestants gather to draw their own 24 page comic in a 24 hour period (daunting, for even the quickest artist!). Local artists and students are right mixing it up, including UAF Art professor Jamie Smith (and artist of Freeze Frame and Nuggets daily comic strips). Yet another example of Fairbanks folks having a blast in the arctic north. If you're in Fairbanks, check it out at the Comic Shop, or find a location near you!
Excelsior!
Joe
If you didn't know, today is the fourth 24 hour comic day across the world. Fairbanks is right there in the mix, with our third year in this event. Contestants gather to draw their own 24 page comic in a 24 hour period (daunting, for even the quickest artist!). Local artists and students are right mixing it up, including UAF Art professor Jamie Smith (and artist of Freeze Frame and Nuggets daily comic strips). Yet another example of Fairbanks folks having a blast in the arctic north. If you're in Fairbanks, check it out at the Comic Shop, or find a location near you!
Excelsior!
Joe
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Starvation Gulch at UAF!
Yo yo yo!This last weekend was a hot one in the arctic north. I'm referring, of course to UAF's 85th annual Starvation Gulch, our fall celebratatory bonfire. For the event, clubs and organizations around campus gather wood to build gi-normous, flammable structures for the sole purpose of burning them down. Check out this video on youtube to see more Starvation Gulch action. This is just another example of the folks here at UAF having a blast, and having fun outside, even when it is cold. Enjoy!
Joe
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tunnel Man Emerges!
Hey Team,
I just wanted to share an awesome youtube video with everyone: Tunnel Man Emerges! Tunnel Man is a super hero who lives in Ice Tunnels, and teaches children about Ice Wedges and Contraction Cracks in Alaska. Tunnel Man is played by Kenji Yoshikawa, a Research Associate Professor for the Institute of Northern Engineering. I thought the video was awesome, fun, and educational. It was produced as part of UAF's participation in the International Polar Year (IPY). The Anchorage Daily News also did a story on Tunnel Man. Finally, check out the video!
Thanks for reading, more excitment in the North to come! Joe
I just wanted to share an awesome youtube video with everyone: Tunnel Man Emerges! Tunnel Man is a super hero who lives in Ice Tunnels, and teaches children about Ice Wedges and Contraction Cracks in Alaska. Tunnel Man is played by Kenji Yoshikawa, a Research Associate Professor for the Institute of Northern Engineering. I thought the video was awesome, fun, and educational. It was produced as part of UAF's participation in the International Polar Year (IPY). The Anchorage Daily News also did a story on Tunnel Man. Finally, check out the video!
Thanks for reading, more excitment in the North to come! Joe
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Great Outdoors in Fairbanks
Hey Future and Current Nanooks,
About a week ago I decided to go climbing and hiking out at Angel Rocks about 50 miles out of Fairbanks. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great hike. Afterwords, I went out to the Chena Hot Springs Resort and went for a soak in the natural hot spring. Since I was there, I also went to the Aurora Ice Museum, which is the world's largest year round ice facility. Of course, being from Alaska, ice is nothing new to me, but it was fun to see all the carvings in one of the hottest months of the year.
One of the great things about living in Fairbanks and attending UAF is that you are IN Alaska. If you have any interest in the great outdoors, this is a pretty great place. We highly encourage our students to get out an enjoy it with our wide array of intramural sports and our Outdoor Adventure Office. If you're coming up for Orientation, be sure to check out the Wilderness Welcome!
Thanks for reading, and excelsior!
Joe
PS: Photos coming, they're on my camera at home.
About a week ago I decided to go climbing and hiking out at Angel Rocks about 50 miles out of Fairbanks. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great hike. Afterwords, I went out to the Chena Hot Springs Resort and went for a soak in the natural hot spring. Since I was there, I also went to the Aurora Ice Museum, which is the world's largest year round ice facility. Of course, being from Alaska, ice is nothing new to me, but it was fun to see all the carvings in one of the hottest months of the year.
One of the great things about living in Fairbanks and attending UAF is that you are IN Alaska. If you have any interest in the great outdoors, this is a pretty great place. We highly encourage our students to get out an enjoy it with our wide array of intramural sports and our Outdoor Adventure Office. If you're coming up for Orientation, be sure to check out the Wilderness Welcome!
Thanks for reading, and excelsior!
Joe
PS: Photos coming, they're on my camera at home.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Academic Decathlon!
Hey team,
This is Joe again. I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all about the awesome state Academic Decathlon competition I just attended. The Academic Decathlon, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is a high school academic program designed challenge the best and brightest students from each school in a competition with other schools from their region and state. The students compete in 10 different categories (hence, decathlon): Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, and Speech. In high school, I did Drama Debate and Forensics, so I couldn't do Aca Deca, but I wish I had the chance.
For my part, I was a guest judge and proctor for the event, and I got to hand out 18 scholarships during the awards banquet. I have quite a background in public speaking, so I was totally stoked to be a judge for both the Interview and Speech programs. These student were great!
The result of the competition were as follows:
1st Place large school: Lathrop High School (my alma mater)
1st Place medium school: Monroe Catholic Jr/Sr High School
1st Place small school: Klawock High School
If you want to find out more about the Alaska Academic Decathlon, feel free to visit their website. They also compiled a video of the event and it's online here. If you watch the video, make sure to watch out for the couple of shots of me! Thanks for reading, and I'll update you with exciting information from my adventures soon!
Joe
This is Joe again. I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all about the awesome state Academic Decathlon competition I just attended. The Academic Decathlon, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is a high school academic program designed challenge the best and brightest students from each school in a competition with other schools from their region and state. The students compete in 10 different categories (hence, decathlon): Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, and Speech. In high school, I did Drama Debate and Forensics, so I couldn't do Aca Deca, but I wish I had the chance.
For my part, I was a guest judge and proctor for the event, and I got to hand out 18 scholarships during the awards banquet. I have quite a background in public speaking, so I was totally stoked to be a judge for both the Interview and Speech programs. These student were great!
The result of the competition were as follows:
1st Place large school: Lathrop High School (my alma mater)
1st Place medium school: Monroe Catholic Jr/Sr High School
1st Place small school: Klawock High School
If you want to find out more about the Alaska Academic Decathlon, feel free to visit their website. They also compiled a video of the event and it's online here. If you watch the video, make sure to watch out for the couple of shots of me! Thanks for reading, and I'll update you with exciting information from my adventures soon!
Joe
Friday, February 6, 2009
Power Shift is Coming!
Dear fellow shifters,
Hello, this is Joe from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Office of Admissions again. Just wanted to give a quick post about a meeting I sat in on last night. The meeting was sponsored by the upcoming Power Shift event which will be happening in Washington DC at the end of February. This is an opportunity for people all over the country to come together to share their thoughts, concerns and hopes for the future of the environment. I was impressed to see such a wide variety of students attending this meeting on campus. It seemed like a real community event. Parents with their children attended, undergraduates, graduates, staff members, and more were present. I was impressed with the dedication to the environment, and I can only hope that the response was as positive on other campuses throughout the nation and world. I know that some students and community members from Fairbanks will be attending, and I hope that many more attend. I won't be able to attend, unfortunately, but I will be following the event and related events closely. Remember, that's powershift09.org!
Thanks for reading, and have a great day. I'll post again soon about some more excitement!
Joe
Hello, this is Joe from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Office of Admissions again. Just wanted to give a quick post about a meeting I sat in on last night. The meeting was sponsored by the upcoming Power Shift event which will be happening in Washington DC at the end of February. This is an opportunity for people all over the country to come together to share their thoughts, concerns and hopes for the future of the environment. I was impressed to see such a wide variety of students attending this meeting on campus. It seemed like a real community event. Parents with their children attended, undergraduates, graduates, staff members, and more were present. I was impressed with the dedication to the environment, and I can only hope that the response was as positive on other campuses throughout the nation and world. I know that some students and community members from Fairbanks will be attending, and I hope that many more attend. I won't be able to attend, unfortunately, but I will be following the event and related events closely. Remember, that's powershift09.org!
Thanks for reading, and have a great day. I'll post again soon about some more excitement!
Joe
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Rejuvenation!!!
Winter break is the perfect opportunity to get out and explore!!! After a hard semester, the best way to get back in the game in the Spring is to explore and learn new things! This winter break I went home to Anchorage for Christmas to visit family and house sat for a family with dogs!
After the holidays, my boyfriend and I took off to the East Coast because it is so easy to get around with all of the public transportation options! We started off in Washington DC with a tour of the capitol and checking out the museums, and then just walked around exploring all DC has to offer. Our first day out of DC we traveled to Annapolis, MD the capitol of Maryland and home of the U.S. Naval Academy. The Naval Academy and the town were exciting to see for me because I had almost gone there before I came to UAF!
The next day we went down to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home and learned a lot about him and walked all across the expansive acres of the Washington's farm. A self-taught man, he experimented and designed upgrades to farming and its equipment!
We had many other adventures during that break, but the biggest one of all was attending the Inauguration of President Obama! This was a very exciting event! We had taken the train, which was jam packed with people, down the day before and when we got off and entered the train station, there were people everywhere we could barely move! We headed over to the Senate Office building to pick up our Inauguration tickets and had to wait in line for 20 minutes just to get into the building! After I went up for the tickets I found out that some people had waited nearly 2 hours earlier in the day! On the day of the actual event we got on the Metro with so many people that there wasn't even standing room available after a couple stops! We couldn't find the gate we were supposed to enter through because there were so many people we had to snake our way through the mobs! When we got to a line we were not even sure if we were in a line!
The next day we went down to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home and learned a lot about him and walked all across the expansive acres of the Washington's farm. A self-taught man, he experimented and designed upgrades to farming and its equipment!
We had many other adventures during that break, but the biggest one of all was attending the Inauguration of President Obama! This was a very exciting event! We had taken the train, which was jam packed with people, down the day before and when we got off and entered the train station, there were people everywhere we could barely move! We headed over to the Senate Office building to pick up our Inauguration tickets and had to wait in line for 20 minutes just to get into the building! After I went up for the tickets I found out that some people had waited nearly 2 hours earlier in the day! On the day of the actual event we got on the Metro with so many people that there wasn't even standing room available after a couple stops! We couldn't find the gate we were supposed to enter through because there were so many people we had to snake our way through the mobs! When we got to a line we were not even sure if we were in a line!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friends in Fairbanks
So, I just finished my blog entry on the amazing trip I had to Washington DC this winter break. However, while my break ended in witnessing history, it actually got off with a pretty bleak start. I'm originally from the Portland, OR metro area and right after finals I was to be headed home to see my family over break. Unfortunately, a huge storm hit the Pacific Northwest completely shutting down the Seattle, Portland, and Spokane airports--apparently not all airports are prepared for snow and ice like Fairbanks! My flight, and the flights of many friends were naturally canceled. But just as I was beginning to bemoan the reality of not making it home for Christmas, I realized that even in just two years of being up here I have accumulated quite an awesome group of friends. From spontaneous sledding adventures to Winter Solstice parties to Contra-dancing, my Fairbanks friends and others stranded like myself banded together and made the best of what could have been a pretty miserable kickoff to our Christmas break. This is just one more example of the incredible hospitality and kindness of the amazing community here at UAF and throughout Fairbanks. When you choose to come to UAF, you are not just coming to a unique and wonderful college, but also a unique and wonderful community.
Witness to History...Thanks to UAF!
This last week America ushered in a new era with the inauguration of Barack Obama. As a political science major, I have been following the campaigns for the past year, and I have had my eye on Obama ever since his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech. Thus, to say the least, this has been a BIG deal for me! Last fall I was approached by a series of professors and administrators who were extremely excited to tell me about an opportunity to attend the Inauguration in Washington DC this January. I applied and was accepted as one of eleven students choosen to represent UAF at the Washington Center's Inauguration Seminar. This all-expenses paid trip included a week long intensive academic seminar at the University of DC, site visits to a plethora of amazing locales, VIP meetings with various officials, and tickets to the Inauguration (half the group went to the actual Oath of Office Ceremony on the Mall, while the other half had VIP tickets to the Parade). I recently returned from this incredible
, once in a lifetime winter vacation and would like to take a brief moment to share with you some of the fantastic experiences I had back in Washington DC.The week-long seminar was an academic treat--"seminar" might sound boring, but what it really means is an all-star cast of speakers, site visits, and other opportunities. Among some of our more impressive speakers were Sam Donaldson, the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Bush's Press Secretary Dana Perino, Ted Koppel, Mark Russell, and CNN Correspondant Dana Bash. We also had the opportunity to visit a wide range of Washington sites, including: the Republican National Committee Headquarters, the Jordanian Embassy, the Center for American Progress think-tank, and many others. As Alaskans we were able to get a few extra-special treats that many of our fellow Seminar particpants (stu
dents from all over the nation) did not get, these included meetings with our three Congressional delegates and VIP tickets to a National Press Club Luncheon.When not in seminar, the eleven of us had a splendid time exploring Washington DC. Just a few highlights included: the Smithsonian museums compelete with special Inauguration celebrations, the baby guerrila that was born at the National Zoo upon arrival to DC, all of the Mall's memorials and monuments, and of course, delicious dinners in Georgetown and Dupont Circle. But the highlight of all highlights was without a doubt, Inauguration Day. While half of our group watched the Oath of Office Ceremony from a privileged spot right in front of the Captiol, myself and four other UAF students staked out our spots across from the White House on the parade route. Although it was a cold, long day, all five of us were honored to have virtually front row seats to history as w
e watched Barack and Michelle walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, followed by over 100 performances from groups from across the nation. Extra-special for us was that our parade seats were right across the street from Obama's viewing box--so for three hours we got to watch our new President laugh and joke with his family as he cheered on group after group.All in all, it was an incredible experience to be in our nation's capital during such a historic event. The energy and enthusiasm radiating throughout the city was one of the most remarkable environments I have ever been in. Whether Republican or Democrat, American or a vistor from afar, Barack Obama's Inauguration weekend and the week proceding it was one filled with hope, optimism,
and a sense that the world is indeed changing and the people are at last ready to embrace those changes. I have been privileged a number of times to get to travel on behalf of UAF, but by far, being a "witness to history" in Washington DC this January was certainly the most memorable.For all those in the Fairbanks area, I invite you to come to a special presentation and reception by the eleven-student Inaugural delegation on Tuesday, February 10th at 4:15pm in the Wood Center Ballroom.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Worldwide Influence
Ever told someone that you go to or are thinking of going to UAF and then get that confused look and a mumbled "Huh? Where is that?" Students often have a bit of a complex when it comes to the notarity of UAF. Hearing things like "Nobody knows or cares we're up here." or "What can you do with a degree from UAF? Its a state school!" unfortunatly is too common.
Right now, I'm in Longyearbyen, a town of about 2,100 inhabitants on the Norwegian archepeligo of Svalbard on exchange from UAF. (I assure you, myself and other ambassadors will be telling you a lot about Exchange and Study Abroad from UAF in the weeks to come.) I've been here for a week. In that one week, I've found 2 paper publications with articles about science and activities conducted at UAF. Furthermore, UAF was mentioned in a lecture I attended on Tuesday. Today as I walked out of the computer lab, I saw someone looking at the Aurora Forecast website run by UAF's Geophysical Institute. You can check it out yourself at http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/. All that in just a week!
Clearly, UAF and its students are making big impacts worldwide. I don't know about any of you, but I say that I'm a UAF student with pride. I have faith in our students, our staff, and our faculty and the education they give us. We are influencing the world in countless ways and it makes me proud to be a part of that.
More from Longyearbyen soon!
Right now, I'm in Longyearbyen, a town of about 2,100 inhabitants on the Norwegian archepeligo of Svalbard on exchange from UAF. (I assure you, myself and other ambassadors will be telling you a lot about Exchange and Study Abroad from UAF in the weeks to come.) I've been here for a week. In that one week, I've found 2 paper publications with articles about science and activities conducted at UAF. Furthermore, UAF was mentioned in a lecture I attended on Tuesday. Today as I walked out of the computer lab, I saw someone looking at the Aurora Forecast website run by UAF's Geophysical Institute. You can check it out yourself at http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/. All that in just a week!
Clearly, UAF and its students are making big impacts worldwide. I don't know about any of you, but I say that I'm a UAF student with pride. I have faith in our students, our staff, and our faculty and the education they give us. We are influencing the world in countless ways and it makes me proud to be a part of that.
More from Longyearbyen soon!