RAHI graduation ceremony recognizes student success

Submitted by Denise Wartes
Phone: (907) 474-6886
07/07/04

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Rural Alaska Honors Institute will pay tribute to the accomplishments of 44 students at a graduation ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, July 9 in Schaible Auditorium. A public reception will follow at 3 p.m. in the Brooks Building gathering room.

Teisha Simmons, the new coordinator of the Alaska Natives into Psychology program and a UAF alumnus from Galena, will be the keynote speaker.

The RAHI program is aimed at rural and Alaska Native students who have completed their junior or senior years of high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average. Proposed in 1982 by the Alaska Federation of Natives, RAHI emphasizes a challenging university curriculum and a residential program to acquaint students with college life and expectations. More than 170 students, after participating in RAHI, have gone on to earn baccalaureate, associate or graduate degrees. Many RAHI alumni have joined Alaska’s professional workforce with many more in the postsecondary pipeline.

"We attempt to build a supportive community in which students participate in a rich academic setting, build a university transcript with eight or more credits and develop a long-term supportive network of peers, staff and instructors," said program Coordinator Denise Wartes.

The RAHI curriculum includes university courses funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the National Institues of Health and UAF’s Alaska Natives Into Psychology program. Courses in writing at a college level make up the centerpiece of the curriculum, along with a choice of biochemistry, geoscience, math or psychology. Instruction in computers, Alaska Native dance, swimming and study skills round out the college preparatory residency. RAHI is sponsored by UAF’s College of Rural Alaska.

Contact: Denise Wartes or Tim Murphrey at (907) 474-6886, toll free at 1-800-478-6886, e-mail fyrahi@uaf.edu or visit the RAHI website at http://www.uaf.edu/rahi for more information.