UAA Alumni Spirit Spring/Summer 2026
Index
FEATURES
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Dance alumna and assistant professor Katie O’Loughlin helms the return of UAA Dance, fusing community, collaboration and opportunity to rebuild the program for current students.
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UAA’s new John E. Havelock Trial Simulation Courtroom gives students hands-on courtroom experience, preparing future legal professionals while also serving Alaska’s legal community for training, education and workforce development.
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In January 2026, social work alumna Kim Kovol started her new role serving in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, bringing her Alaska policy experience to a national stage to strengthen Indigenous families and communities.
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After six years away pursuing graduate studies at Dartmouth and Harvard, journalism and public communications alumnus Corey Hester returned to Alaska to steward the legacy of the Iditarod as chief operating officer of the organization.
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Established by Automotive and Diesel Technology program alumni and professors Nathan Berry and Darrin Marshall, the Auto Diesel Expo has become a signature event for the university for its role connecting education, industry and community.
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Rare-earth elements are vital for electronics, but mining them can be expensive and poses environmental concerns. Biological sciences alumna D’Lynn Gleason’s research shows that microbes from Alaska glaciers can be used to extract rare-earth elements without these drawbacks.
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Meet this year’s Alumni of Distinction: Alumni of Achievement Deborah Morton, Alumni Humanitarian Maile Johnston and Alumni Emerging Leader Vladislav Finko.
ON THE COVER
From the Editor
From an Alumna
Rarely is creativity a lightning bolt from the sky, but those flashes of pure magic do happen.
Creativity evolves over a lifetime. As a child, it’s chalk on a sidewalk. As a teen, it’s developing a signature move on the soccer field. In our twenties, it’s a song in response to heartbreak. What fueled my creativity at 20 looks nothing like what fuels it now.
From the Chancellor
Choreographing the Next Act
On a Tuesday night in spring 2023, UAA alumna Katie O’Loughlin, B.A. ’17, received an unexpected — and perfectly timed — call from Daniel Anteau, B.A. ’96, chair of UAA’s Department of Theatre and Dance, inviting her to apply for a faculty position as the department prepared to reintroduce the dance minor several years after it was cut in response to Alaska’s fiscal crisis.
From Classroom to Courtroom
UAA students studying criminology, criminal justice and legal studies no longer have to wait until graduation to step into a courtroom. With the recent opening of the John E. Havelock Trial Simulation Courtroom, students now have access to a premier, experiential learning environment to master their craft.
Putting People First
At the start of 2026, social work alumna Kim Kovol, M.S.W. ’22, was appointed to the role of principal deputy director of the Administration for Native Americans within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). In this position, Kovol works with tribes across the country to strengthen families, expand economic development opportunities and support culturally grounded programs that improve health and well-being in Indigenous communities, all of which are based on priorities identified by tribal leaders themselves.
Leading the Pack
Few events capture Alaska’s identity quite like the Iditarod. Dubbed “the last great race on Earth,” the 1,000-mile sled dog race is more than a competition — it is an international symbol of endurance, grit and the state’s pioneering spirit. For journalism and public communications alumnus Corey Hester, chief operating officer of the Iditarod Trail Committee, stewarding that legacy is both a professional responsibility and a personal honor.
Start Your Engines
May is always a busy month on the UAA Anchorage campus. Graduation season brings the excitement of the commencement and hooding ceremonies. But just across campus, another event is building its own tradition — one that is even louder. The Auto Diesel Expo has quickly become a signature gathering for the university’s automotive and diesel technology (ADT) program, drawing attention not only for its scale and energy, but for its role in connecting education, industry and community.
Biomining for rare-earth elements
The rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 transition metals on the periodic table of elements, which includes cerium and lanthanum. REEs are essential for manufacturing many modern electronic devices like cell phones, solar panels and EV batteries. Naturally, access to REEs is a major concern for economic vitality and national security.
Meet the 2025-26 Alumni of Distinction
By Matt Jardin
The Office of Alumni and Community Engagement and UAA Alumni Association welcomed spring by announcing the latest Alumni of Distinction. The three distinguished graduates were honored for their contributions in their fields and to their communities at the Alumni of Distinction Celebration on Thursday, March 26, which saw more than 120 attendees pack the Fine Arts Building Recital Hall on the Anchorage campus to reconnect with their hometown university while raising donations to benefit UAA programs and scholarships.
news briefs
5 Seawolves competed at Winter Olympic Games in Italy
JC Schoonmaker, B.S. Natural Sciences ’22
Representing the U.S. in Nordic skiing
8th in Men’s Sprint Classic
Class Notes
1995
1996
2001
Lens on Campus
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magazine staff
EDITOR
Matt Jardin, B.B.A. ’10
WRITERS
Keenan Britt
Matt Jardin, B.B.A. ’10
Catalina Myers
Jordan Oldenburg
Michelle Saport
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Brett Rawalt
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
James Evans, B.A. ’16
UAA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Clare Jorgensen, B.A. ’20, M.P.A. ’23,
Board Vice President
Jacob Chambers, B.B.A. ’14, M.B.A. ’19
Shareen Crosby, B.A. ’00,
Jenny Di Grappa, B.S. ’14, C.T.1. ’14
Ada Ejike-Maduakor, M.S. ’10
Tuan Graziano, B.B.A. ’23
Daniel Hart, B.S. ’10
Victor Jimenez, B.A. ’14
Leila Kimbrell, B.A. ’02, C.T.2. ’02
Lessie Kincaid, B.S. ’13
Tana Skye Nevada, B.B.A. ’16,
Board President
Pearl-Grace Pantaleone, B.A. ’14
Megan Piper, B.S. ’12
Jason Richards, B.S. ’11
Sarah Warrington, M.B.A. ’15
Zac Clark, B.A. ‘05, M.P.A. ‘23,
Ex-Officio, Director of Alumni
and Community Engagement
UAA OFFICE OF ALUMNI AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
907-786-1942
seawolf.forever@alaska.edu
uaa.alaska.edu/alumni
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