FEATURES

1. Celebrating history in the making
   Look back at major milestones and ahead at what’s next as UAA commemorates several anniversaries this year, including the UAA/APU Consortium Library’s 50th, College of Business and Public Policy’s 50th, Culinary Arts’ 50th and Campus Kickoff’s 20th.
2. Home grown energy
   When general management alumnus John Sims was named president of Enstar Natural Gas in September 2017, his status as the first born-and-raised Alaskan to lead the energy company was highlighted. His roots are much more than a talking point — they’re what keeps him plugged into the distinct needs of his customers and neighbors.
3. License to create
   At an unveiling ceremony in August 2023, art alumna Sabrina Kessakorn was announced the winner of the Alaska Artistic License Plate Competition. Her design, titled “Fireweed in Denali,” perfectly represents her mission to bridge the gap between her two passions: art and science.
4. All you need is love
   Early in 2024, social work alumna Panikaa Teeple will pursue graduate work in Indigenous studies at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where she aims to learn about the Maori people and apply her findings to the advocacy taking place among Alaska Native communities.
5. Championing climate justice and immigrant rights
   Political science junior and College of Arts and Sciences Excellence Award recipient Albiona Selimi was appointed to be University of Alaska student regent in June 2023, putting to use her passion for government while she works toward her goal of becoming a civil rights attorney.
6. Growing Alaska’s research community
   Chemistry alumna and associate professor Holly Martinson hopes the new Biomed U-RISE program “lights a fire” in Alaska’s research community by empowering undergraduate students with lab experience, mentorship and financial assistance. Martinson and co-PI, Professor Tracey Burke, welcomed the first cohort this academic year.
7. Partners in education
   In collaboration with the Anchorage School District, this year’s Alumni Homecoming Luncheon saw more than 300 graduates and partners gather at the Alaska Airlines Center to hear featured alumni share stories of the importance of an Alaska education for our next generation of leaders. By the end, over $10K was raised to benefit UAA programs and scholarships.
8. Each one, teach one
   Past president of the NAACP Alaska chapter, honorary doctorate and Homecoming keynote speaker Cal Williams reflects on a lifetime of professional and political achievement.
9. Great stories told well
   Founder and CEO of Greatland Studios, business alumnus and Homecoming guest speaker Brad Hillwig shares his own story of professional and educational development.

DEPARTMENTS

1. From the Editor
2. From the director
3. From the chancellor
4. News Briefs
5. Class Notes
6. Lens on Campus

ON THE COVER

From the Editor

Anniversaries are typically a time for reassessment and recommitment. So in this issue of Spirit, we’re profiling alumni who have reaffirmed their connections to their communities, like general management alumnus John Sims, who, as the first born-and-raised Alaskan president of Enstar Natural Gas, relies on his roots to keep the company attuned to the needs of his neighbors.

From the Director

Greetings from the Office of Alumni and Community Engagement! I am honored to reach out to you in this fall edition of Spirit magazine as the new director of alumni and community engagement at UAA.

It is with immense pride that I have the opportunity to serve in this role. I believe our alumni, now over 70,000 strong, are a vital resource to our university and in shaping the future of our great state of Alaska and beyond. UAA alumni are diverse, accomplished, caring individuals, committed to professions in business, education, engineering, the sciences, health care, the arts, technical fields, public service and more. UAA alumni have, and continue to enrich our university’s legacy.

We continue building momentum through UAA 2027, focusing on student success and meeting their needs, whether through a traditional four-year baccalaureate degree or offering those with an established career looking for a step up or to pivot with a different degree or certificate.

By Michelle Saport

Look back at major milestones and ahead at what’s next as UAA commemorates several anniversaries this year, including the UAA/APU Consortium Library’s 50th, College of Business and Public Policy’s 50th, Culinary Arts’ 50th and Campus Kickoff’s 20th.

‘Alaska is a library’: Nancy Lesh reflects on more than five decades of service with the Consortium Library

At the UAA/APU Consortium Library’s 50th anniversary celebration, Dean Steve Rollins gave a shoutout to librarian Nancy Lesh, who may be the university’s longest-serving employee. Lesh had already been with the university for five years when the Consortium Library was established and built in 1973 following an agreement between the two schools that would eventually become the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and Alaska Pacific University (APU). In honor of the library’s 50th anniversary, we caught up with Lesh for an inside look at its history and future.

When John Sims, M.B.A. General Management ’10, was named president of Enstar Natural Gas in September 2017, a lot of fanfare was made about him being the first born-and-raised Alaskan to lead the energy company. But Sims’ roots are much more than a talking point — they’re what keeps him plugged into the distinct needs of his customers and neighbors.

“What’s really unique about Alaska is how independent we are as a state, as individuals and as an economy,” said Sims. “Our military, our hospitals and our universities play a huge role in that. But if you don’t have a low cost to energy, it’s really not sustainable. That to me is why this job is so important. We’re constantly trying to find ways to lower our cost because we know the impact that can have on the state and our economy.”

Art alumna and ecology technician wins 2023 Alaska Artistic License Plate Competition

At an unveiling ceremony presented by Gov. Mike Dunleavy during the Alaska State Fair on Saturday, Aug. 26, Sabrina Kessakorn, A.A. General Program ’19, B.A. Art ’21, was announced the winner of the 2023 Alaska Artistic License Plate Competition. While the day was rainy (per Alaska State Fair tradition), the scene depicted in Kessakorn’s design, “Fireweed in Denali,” was anything but. Featuring a pastel color palette showing fireweed against the backdrop of Denali, she hopes her license plate will offer a reprieve for drivers stuck in winter traffic.

More than a beautiful landmark, Denali was also the site of one of Kessakorn’s most transformational experiences in 2018.

“Denali changed my life,” said Kessakorn. “I had just started college and it was my first time being away from home for longer than a week. I got really incorporated into the land there and had this amazing experience on my birthday where I just happened to find an exhibition about artwork inspired by science. That changed my world and made me realize that I can be a scientist and an artist at the same time.”

Social work alumna and UAA’s newest Fulbright Scholar is New Zealand bound

Ever since she was six years old, Panikaa Teeple, B.S.W. Social Work ’21, knew that spreading love was her life’s purpose. Now, she does exactly that through her work as a program coordinator in the Behavioral Health Department at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).

Next year, Teeple will have the opportunity to spread love internationally as UAA’s latest recipient of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant, which provides students in more than 140 countries the opportunity to pursue graduate study and research abroad.

“Healing from the effects of historical trauma has been an essential part of my journey — a journey I’m continuing to walk on,” said Teeple. “This truth is something I hold deeply within my heart and spirit, and at the same time I also have the opportunity to experience timeless love and connection because of my family, community, culture and ancestors. So I carry those close as I continue to be someone who pushes boundaries for healing work in a Westernized world for the next generation.”

Political science junior on her aspirations as newest student regent and beyond

Selimi is a current member of the Honors College Leadership Track, and formerly the chief activities officer for the Union of Students at the University of Alaska Anchorage (USUAA) and a participant in Model United Nations. “I am a chronic overachiever and am always interested in participating in school programs, both for social interaction and intellectual stimulation,” she said. She joined the Honors College because she enjoys being academically challenged and chose to join USUAA because she was briefly involved in student government in high school and wanted to have a deeper experience with it.

New Biomed U-RISE program empowers undergraduate students with lab experience, mentorship and financial assistance

Co-principal investigators Tracey Burke, Ph.D., professor in the School of Social Work, and Holly Martinson, Ph.D., associate professor in the WWAMI School of Medical Education, hope the program empowers more Alaskans to pursue an advanced biomedical, research-focused degree and contribute to the research community.

“I hope this grows research exponentially, starting with students supporting faculty research projects, but then also gaining all the tools necessary to potentially conduct research on their own,” said Martinson.

Everything Cal Williams, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters ’22, accomplished in life, he credits to someone having faith in him.

“Most of the places that I found myself were the result of somebody else believing in me and directing me to go there,” said Williams. “For me, the opportunity of education was a salvation. The fact is that the education process is that of information sharing from one to another — each one, teach one. We learn from someone else.”

Despite an unprecedented global pandemic restricting in-person activity in 2020, new businesses flourished. That same year, new business applications increased more than 20%, creating an estimated 4.3 million new small businesses. While over half of COVID-19-inspired companies weren’t expected to last longer than 12 months, Greatland Studios hasn’t just survived, but thrived.

Starting Greatland in 2021, founder and CEO Brad Hillwig, M.B.A. General Management ’10, develops original films, as well as branded projects for clients by identifying stories that make them unique, and then producing humanistic and professional documentaries to share those stories with audiences.

UAA alumni are making an impact in communities worldwide! Chances are you know one who deserves to be recognized for their amazing work. Celebrate these alumni and honor their important contributions by nominating them for the annual Alumni of Distinction awards!

Awardees will be announced in early March 2024 and celebrated at the annual Alumni of Distinction Celebration Banquet on March 29, 2024.