UAS Student Alumni Association

Upcoming Event:

On March 3rd at 12pm, the UAS Alumni Association is hosting LinkedIn 101 with Career Services Coordinator Deborah Rydman! This presentation will go over the basics of LinkedIn and will be help in setting up your professional profile! This event is free of charge and will be on Zoom and will require registration. Question? Contact the Alumni Office at [email protected] or call 907-796-6569.
Register here: https://alaska.zoom.us/.../tZwucuCpqjgvGNbMCqg3wEYkBu5Fut...

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Alumni & Friends membership helps support our Alumni Scholarship Recipients on their path to becoming successful alumni. Meet scholarship awardee Tina:

Tina Cruz
B.S. Biology ‘21
Juneau Campus
Alumni Scholarship Recipient

"I would like to thank the UAS Alumni & Friends Association for providing this scholarship and helping me achieve my educational goals. Without scholarships like these, I wouldn't be able to do so. Combined with scholarships offered through the State of Alaska, I may be able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology debt-free. Coming from a family where my father did not have the opportunity to attend any schooling after primary school, I can say that this scholarship has not only affected me and my education, but my family as well."

Tina Cruz is currently studying biology with an emphasis in marine fisheries science at the UAS. Her passion for Alaska and its unique features makes UAS the perfect school for her studies. “The state of Alaska is an ethereal place, almost like another world,” says Tina. After spending summers collecting samples and data on fish stocks, she wants to continue protecting and ensuring the future of fishing by becoming a fisheries biologist with Fish & Game or another agency. “The education I have experienced at UAS is like no other and ensures that I will be able to work for the state of Alaska. I want to help ensure a pristine future.”

UAS was the starting point for this globetrotting UAS alumni couple, Arlo & Oksana Midgett.

“Our experience at UAS provided the confidence to step outside our comfort zone and led to the careers that support exploring the world,” said Arlo.

Through UAS professor-led class trips to Spanish speaking countries, Arlo and Oksana Midgett first met as undergrad students exploring Venezuela. These class trips ignited a deep passion for the language, travel, and learning about cultures unfamiliar to their own. They credit their experience at UAS for the skills and confidence they gained to become professionals in their fields and for the ability to set off independently on what became a three-year adventure around the world.

Originally from Russia, Oksana vividly remembers taking an accounting class from professor Janet Dye and knowing immediately that “this was the career path for me.”

“The intimate environment of UAS gave me an opportunity and guidance to discover what I really liked and wanted to do for a living, and the knowledge to get there.”

Right after getting her Bachelor’s in Accounting from UAS, Oksana was hired as an accountant and earned her MBA from UAS as well. She now works as a controller at Alaska Electric Light & Power.

Arlo graduated from high school in Ketchikan and earned a Liberal Arts degree at UAS while working as a student employee in the media services department. Gaining experience in his student role generated the interest and skills that he uses in his line of work as a publication specialist for the State of Alaska and has held a range of production, web, and digital media roles.

The experiential learning opportunities in Latin America with professor Rick Bellagh led Arlo to graduate from student, to student assistant, and finally adjunct professor leading Spanish trips for other UAS students. “UAS gave me the ability to step outside my shell and explore possibilities,” Arlo said.