Like many APU students, Lilly Gritsavage will be in the mountains this summer. If it’s a windy day, look for the person wrapped in blankets at the trailhead. Enrolled in APU’s Master of Science in Outdoor and Experiential Education, Lilly is conducting surveys on trail usage in Anchorage this summer. The results will inform her…
Diversity on the trail
APU student research spotlights Eklutna Glacier
For more than a decade, Alaska Pacific University (APU) faculty and students have camped, dug, monitored, and measured on Eklutna Glacier, the main source of Anchorage’s water supply. Those years of observations contributed to a recent article published in the Journal of Glaciology about the glacier’s response to climate change. In short, Eklutna Glacier is…
Seven women. Three weeks. One APU expedition.
Photos by Outdoor Studies student Addy Wright APU regularly offers expedition courses, but this year’s mountaineering class was special. For likely the first time in program history, all participants were women. The multi-week expedition – a graduation requirement for Outdoor Studies majors – spent May Block in the Alaska Range camping on glaciers, skiing on…
Student investment class raises $1 million and counting
In APU’s Fund Management Practicum, students are given thousands of dollars to invest. But it’s not a classroom simulation. It’s real life. The university started a student-managed fund in 2001 with $200,000. It has since grown by more than one million dollars. Each semester, MBA students enroll in the one-credit practicum and continue the success…
PHOTOS: Scientific Diving students head to Whittier
At Alaska Pacific University, the Pacific Ocean is just one of the classrooms. Students who enrolled in APU’s Scientific Diving class headed to Prince William Sound for May Block. Following guidelines from the American Academy of Underwater Science, they practiced collecting specimens from the seafloor and working with specialty research equipment. The course also included…
Meet the Class of 2021
Commencement is May 1. Before the big day, get to know a few members of the Class of 2021 Kela Vicich Bachelor’s of Marine and Environmental Science Class of 2021 Last summer’s travel bans threatened to disrupt long-term research at Toolik Field Station, where one year of lost data could derail decades of work. Out-of-state…
APU Bookshelf: Alumni authors share their stories
Brooke Hartman M.B.A. ’04 As a children’s book author, Brooke only has a few hundred words to build characters, shape a plot, and add a few life lessons on the way. But that’s just one challenge of the writing life. You can write your story at a coffeeshop, she says, “but if you want someone…
Outdoor Studies senior wins big at business competition
At the 2021 UAA Business Plan Competition, Outdoor Studies major Kiana Till won $7,250 with the help of her business partners. Not bad for a senior project. Kiana’s prize-winning concept is an Indigenous-rooted ecotourism company located in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The idea stems from Kiana and her partners’ lifelong connection to the…
Kikkan Randall chases down graduation
She’s back. After 17 national titles, 29 World Cup podiums, and Team USA’s first Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing, Kikkan Randall is finishing her degree. Kikkan started at APU 20 years ago, joining APU’s Nordic Ski Center after graduating from East High School in Anchorage. Though she’s taken classes over the years, her primary…
Wikipedia and the college classroom
Professors don’t often encourage students to use Wikipedia. But in two of Dr. Erin Larson’s environmental science courses – Climate Change and Water Resource Management – the open-source website is a key component. Students don’t just use Wikipedia, but also help improve it. The popular website aims to democratize information. That means anyone – including…