Jan. 23, 2024
Daylight: 5:56:05

One down! It happens that fast!

If you are here in the Interior, you are feeling the real Alaska! It is 37 below out there as I write this - and it is amazing. It feels like the Alaska of my childhood. Also, it is beautifully bright and clear; we are gaining daylight at over six minutes per day! Tomorrow we cross over six hours per day, up from four hours just three weeks ago. Even though it is cold as snot out there, it is happening! Spring is coming! We are on our way!

Are you settling into your rhythms for the semester? Is this the ‘get real’ week after you stretched the break as long as possible? It feels like the great engine that is UAF is only now coming up to a full head of steam. Can you feel it? Email traffic is at maximum flow. Despite the cold, I see lots of students walking across campus between classes. The three coffee shops on our Troth Yeddha’ campus are busily supplying our students, faculty, and staff with the little paper cups of heated fuel necessary for work in the cold of January in Fairbanks, Alaska. Everyone is working hard to get it done – our important work.

How are you doing? Are you busy? What does busy look like to you? How many credits are you carrying? Are you also working? Are you also juggling family and other life commitments and responsibilities? For all the parents and professionals out there for whom school is another layer on top of everything else – I see you. You are heroic. You are not alone. There are so many student heroes carrying so much. How do you manage?

There is an old saying that if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person. That sounds silly. There is truth to it, however. Busy people tend to have good time management skills. They tend to get things done without overthinking it. They eliminate extraneous load and focus on outcomes. What is your secret to getting your work done? Do you have a special place you go to? Do you get up before your family or roommates or stay up until after they go to bed? Do you need music? Do you have a favored playlist? Or, do you need silence?

Learning and recognizing what works for you can empower you for the rest of your life. The cadre of vice-chancellors and senior leaders at UAF are among the busiest people I have ever known. They all have their secret sauce when it comes to getting things done. For the most part, every hour of the day is accounted for on their calendars – even things they do for mental and physical health. Now is a good time to look again at your weekly schedule. You know what works for you and what you need. Does your current schedule look like success?

Welcome to week two of the spring 2024 term. This is how you do it. One week at a time. The light is coming! Take care of yourself out there.

Things to do: 

• Pay your bill before Jan. 26. Even if you think it is paid – double check with Financial Aid or the Bursar’s Office. Students with unpaid balances as of Jan. 26 can be dropped from classes and housing. If you need financial help, help is available. Email uaf-financialaid@alaska.edu, call (907) 474-7256 or drop by 107 Eielson to meet with a financial aid advisor.

• Check out Nanook Engage for all kinds of things happening within our community.

I would love to hear about your secret sauce to success. Drop me a note at obguthrie@alaska.edu.

— Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management