UAF’s Rural Alaska Honors Institute to recognize 59 graduates

June 26, 2015

After six weeks of challenging academics, community service and hands-on learning, 59 rural and Alaska Native high school students will be recognized during the Rural Alaska Honors Institute graduation ceremony at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. The ceremony will be in the Reichardt Building auditorium, Room 201, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Kathy Milligan-Myhre, an '89 RAHI alumna from Kotzebue, will be the ceremony’s keynote speaker. She earned her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing postdoctorate study in Oregon, Milligan-Myhre will join the faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Since UAF created the program in 1983 at the request of the Alaska Federation of Natives, RAHI has prepared hundreds of rural and Alaska Native high school students to adjust academically and socially to college life.

“For many of our students, participating in the Rural Alaska Honors Institute is a life-changing experience," said Denise Wartes, program manager. “They live like university students, form friendships, network with their peers and make memories that will last a lifetime."

Compared to other rural Alaska Native students who enroll at the University of Alaska, rural Alaska Native students who have attended RAHI are twice as likely to earn a bachelor’s degree from the university, according to an independent study by the American Institutes for Research in 2006. The research also measured students’ University of Alaska grade point averages and discovered that RAHI students achieve “superior academic performance."

While living in Fairbanks campus housing for six weeks, RAHI students take classes and earn up to 10 college credits. In addition to required classes in English, library science, emergency management team building, reading and study skills, traditional RAHI students choose from electives in process technology, business, chemistry and math. Three times a week, students choose from karate, yoga or Alaska Native dance classes. RAHI Research students study organic chemistry and are paired with a mentor to perform research.

The 59 rural Alaska high school juniors and seniors graduating this year come from 34 villages. They include seven students whose parents attended RAHI; two students had both parents attend. Nine students have had a sibling attend RAHI.

RAHI is made possible by financial support from the UAF College of Rural and Community Development and sponsors, including Wells Fargo, New York Life, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., Arctic Slope Community Foundation, ConocoPhillips, NANA Management Services, Ravn Alaska, Boeing, Crowley and Kuukpik Corp. Students attend at no cost and have their travel expenses paid. For more information, visit www.uaf.edu/rahi.