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.

Also featured in this issue is art alumna and Alaska Artistic License Plate Competition winner Sabrina Kessakorn, whose design “Fireweed in Denali” perfectly encapsulates her mission to use the universal language of art to make complex scientific concepts more accessible.

You can also read about UAA’s newest Fulbright Scholar: social work alumna Panikaa Teeple, who, in January 2024, will begin graduate studies at the University of Auckland in New Zealand where she will learn about the Indigenous Maori people and apply her findings toward the advocacy taking place among Alaska Native communities.

Back on the Anchorage campus, read about the Biomed U-RISE program, a new undergraduate research program funded by the National Institutes of Health and co-led by chemistry alumnus and associate professor Holly Martinson.

Do you have any anniversaries — or other news — to share? No matter how major or minor, the Alumni Relations team and I want to hear about them. Your updates might even be included in upcoming issues of the magazine in the Class Notes section.

With Green and Gold Spirit,