UAF names 2024 student award recipients

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will honor Nolan Earnest, Janelle Pootoogooluk and T. Womack on May 3 as its outstanding undergraduate degree recipients for 2024.

Earnest will receive the Marion Frances Boswell Memorial Award, which recognizes an outstanding bachelor’s degree candidate. Pootoogooluk will receive the Joel Wiegert Award, which recognizes an outstanding associate degree candidate. Womack will receive the Gray Tilly Memorial Award, which recognizes an outstanding nontraditional graduating candidate.

Nolan Earnest

Earnest will receive a bachelor’s degree in film and performing arts and plans to pursue a career in filmmaking. He participated in and directed many theater and film productions, including documentaries for UAF Upward Bound and the Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship. He was president of the UAF Film Club and vice president of the Climate Club. As a student athlete, Earnest served as the UAF cross-country running team captain for two years and was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-academic team three times. 

In her nomination letter, Maya Salganek, chair of the Department of Theatre and Film, wrote that Earnest “has been an integral component” in the film and performing arts programs, “while also being committed towards his own diverse interests.” She added that he has “rallied people together and developed a positive community of creative intellectuals. Nolan has become a role model for many students within our program and beyond.”

Janelle Pootoogooluk

Pootoogooluk will receive an associate of applied science degree in applied business. Originally from Shishmaref, she has received occupational endorsements from the UAF Northwest Campus in Nome and the UAF Community and Technical College. She is the first person in her family to earn a college degree, and she currently works as a family services intake specialist for Tanana Chiefs Conference.

Kait Hazard, assistant professor of applied business and accounting at CTC, wrote in her recommendation letter, “Janelle's academic achievements stand as a testament to her hard work, discipline and eagerness to learn. Despite the demands of being a full-time employee, a dedicated mother to four daughters and a part-time student, Janelle has consistently excelled in her studies. Janelle's story is one of remarkable achievement and inspiring strength.”

T. Womack

Womack will receive a bachelor's degree in film and performing arts with a concentration in film. A professional artist, vocalist and actor, she participated in numerous on-campus film and theater productions. She volunteered with the Nanook Diversity and Action Center, the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and the Tanana Valley State Fair. She served as UAF Spanish Club president and has written for Sol de Medianoche, Alaska’s bilingual English-Spanish newspaper.

Womack returned to college after years of life experience, wrote Carrie Baker, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, in her letter of recommendation. “She has embraced this challenge and attacked her college career with gusto and enthusiasm,” Baker said. Womack’s spouse, Bryant Womack, wrote, “With a subtle sense of righteous indignation, she champions those who need a friend to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, and a reaffirmation each person is someone especially unique that the world cannot do without.”

Ernest, Pootoogooluk and Womack will be among those honored at UAF’s 2024 honoree recognition ceremony, which will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, at the Davis Concert Hall. More information about the ceremony and other 2024 commencement events is available at www.uaf.edu/commence.

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