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July 2021
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You are invited to the 2021 Nanook Rendezvous
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No matter where you are, connect with UAF and your fellow alumni. Admission to all events is free. Invite your family and friends! We would love to see you online or in person. We will be giving out UAF masks and other goodies this year. If you are out of town or would prefer to have a mask mailed to you, please let us know. Social distancing and COVID-19 precautions are in place for in-person events.
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Thursday, July 22 — Virtual Campus Tours and Gaming
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Noon — This virtual tour will highlight recent additions to campus. After the tour, experience the impact of UAF’S newest facility with an alumni gaming event hosted by the Alaska Esports Center. Players will need a tablet or smartphone with internet.
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- 2 p.m. — If you are in Fairbanks, join us for an outdoor open house with treats. Pick up your brand new "UAF Alumni" tee. Get a map of the new features on campus and check them out on your own personal tour. The UAF alumni team will be there with goodies and information for you!
Friday, July 23 — Fairbanks Friday
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Support locally owned and alumni businesses by grabbing some take-out and meeting your fellow alumni at Pioneer Park or your favorite spot on campus for a picnic.
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7 p.m. — Join us for Nanook Night at the Alaska Goldpanners baseball game. Up to five people will get free admission to the game. Feel free to share this with family and friends.
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Saturday, July 24 — Golden Days
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Join UAF for the annual Golden Days Parade. Show your pride by wearing your UAF gear during the reverse parade at the fairgrounds!
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Stay tuned for more information, and mark your calendars for our in-person and virtual Nanook Rendezvous July 22-24.
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UAFAA gift contributed to the new Alaska Esports Center
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Students take a break from their studies and enjoy UAF's newest facility, the Alaska Esports Center. UAF photo by JR Ancheta.
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We are excited to welcome alumni from all over the world to participate in a multi-player gaming event hosted by the Alaska Esports Center during this year's Nanook Rendezvous alumni reunion. Along with presenting sponsor GCI, the UAFAA is a proud supporter of the program.
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Esports are competitive events where teams play the same popular video games that many people play at home. But it's about more than playing video games! Esports connect people and make the world a little smaller. They promote diversity and inclusion, build self-confidence and cultivate soft skills such as teamwork, problem-solving and empathy.
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"UAF is excited to have launched its new esports center and program in the spring of 2021," said Michael Juell, esports coordinator. "This has already gone a long way for modernizing the student experience and meeting student requests to get involved in the ever-growing competitive gaming sphere. We are excited to offer our students a state-of-the-art experience, with console gaming like Nintendos to fast Alienware PCs and incredible internet support from GCI. If you are interested in learning more about esports, or just want to have a little light-hearted/casual online gaming fun, we hope to see you at the event!"
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Help UAFAA with strategic priorities
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The UAF Alumni Association has been working since January 2021 to update its strategic plan for 2021-2025. The board started by asking stakeholders to identify what is working and what needs some attention. After several meetings via Zoom, the board found its vision and updated the mission of UAFAA.
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OUR VISION & CORE PURPOSE
Nanook Nation: Leaders Connected
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OUR MISSION
We serve the UAF community — magnifying its impact on the world by celebrating and investing in Nanook Nation.
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After find a common mission, board members applied the balanced scorecard approach to build a strategic plan that can be referred to every time a decision is made. This desk copy will be a reference point rather than a document filed away in a dusty drawer.
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Recent alumna inspires Climate Scholars Program
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Abigail Steffen ’20 wants to change the world. And she’s planning to do it while there is still time to address a looming climate crisis. The recent UAF graduate is interested in changing human behavior by addressing obstacles in society and institutions.
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Growing up in Chicago, Steffen spent her summers visiting family in Fairbanks. When she expressed an interest in spending her senior year of high school abroad, a cousin in Alaska suggested Fairbanks. That was a tipping point in planning for her own future.
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“I became interested in climate change and protecting the environment,” Steffen said. “Being on the forefront of climate change while living in one of the last places with millions of miles of undeveloped land seemed natural.”
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Steffen knew she wanted to major in environmental studies. It just so happened that the university in her new hometown stood out as one of the best in the field. She earned a B.S. in natural resource management and a B.A. in foreign languages, with a minor in global climate adaptation and policy. In her junior year, she also participated in the newly formed Climate Scholars Program, becoming one of its first graduates.
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In fact, she helped inspire its creation.
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“We noticed that there was no place on campus for students like Abigail to have community work tied into their education,” said Honors College Director Alexander Hirsch. “That needed to be recognized and sustained in an institutional way.”
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UAFAA Benefactor Fund: A proud legacy
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Twenty years ago, alumni from every decade since the UAF Alumni Association was formed in 1927 came together to endow the Benefactor Fund. Over the past two decades, the program has made a gift to the university each year. It’s a way for alumni and supporters to work together to make an impact in the lives of today’s students.
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The UAFAA Benefactor Fund built the iconic time and temperature sign on Alumni Drive, made improvements to the Himalayan Trail connecting lower and upper campus, seeded the Student Support Fund, helped fund the Alaska Esports Center, and much more.
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This support was made possible by our Benefactor Fund donors. They include alums like Shannon McCarthy ’88, who said it’s a rewarding way to support Nanook Nation.
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“It’s the most fun!” she said. “It’s my favorite way to support UAF students and help them do things outside of the norm. I remember getting funding to travel to Washington, D.C., for a conference, and I’ll never forget that experience.”
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Last year, the Benefactor Fund helped student groups adapt to a COVID world by awarding more than $4,000 to cover the costs to print two campus literary publications — Ice Box, created by undergraduate students, and Permafrost magazine, published by graduate students in the M.F.A. creative writing program for more than 40 years; supplies for the UAF Jewelry Makers; and the Psi Chi Psychology Club's virtual “Self-Care in Uncertain Times” project.
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Join Nanook Network today!
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NANOOK NETWORK: A place for #NanookNation to gather!
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RECONNECT with classmates.
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BECOME A MENTOR to students and alumni.
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NETWORK for career opportunities.
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We are excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Nanook Network, an online platform for alumni, staff, students and friends. Use it to connect with others, get event information, find UAF jobs and more. Stay connected to UAF. Meet up with your classmates and learn about mentoring opportunities. We are very excited about this new mentoring platform. If you would like more information about how you can find a mentor or become a mentor, please join Nanook Network or contact your alumni office directly at uaf-alumni@alaska.edu.
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All students, parents, friends and fans of UAF are welcome. Join now!
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Alumni class notes in the Aurora magazine
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Let us know what you are up to! Send us photos of your latest accomplishments, news of your career or details about your next steps. We are currently gathering photos, snippets and stories for the next edition of the online Aurora magazine. Feel free to enter your submissions here or email the UAF Alumni Association directly at uaf-alumni.edu.
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Also, read what your fellow alumni have been up to in the class notes section of Aurora.
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If you haven’t told us your story yet, the survey remains open, and we’ll continue adding stories as they come in.
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The benefits of UAFAA membership
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As a UAFAA member, you are also eligible for discounts on your Geico insurance policy. You get savings, and the alumni association earns rewards. Visit geico.com/alum/uafaa to find out how much you can save.
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Membership in your UAF Alumni Association helps support student scholarships, alumni outreach, programs like Nanook Network and events such as the Blue and Gold Celebration, Nanook Rendezvous reunion and Grad Bash, just to name a few.
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UAF alumni membership rates:
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One-year membership = $50
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Three-year membership = $140
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Lifetime membership = $1,000
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Another deal offered to UAFAA members is the discount on admission to the UAF Student Recreation Center. Check out the rates for members at the SRC's website. Once you have your membership card, you also have access to campus libraries, career services and all the fun the Wood Center has to offer.
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Upcoming events — save the date
Look for these events taking place this summer to stay connected with UAF:
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UAF hosts many events throughout the summer, both virtually and in person. Keep up to date with all UAF events by checking the events webpage.
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Questions or comments? Please contact us at:
UAF Alumni Association
201 Constitution Hall
P.O. Box 750126
Fairbanks, AK 99775-0126
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Email: uaf-alumni@alaska.edu
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Phone: (907) 474-7081
Fax: (907) 474-6712
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