How long have you been a guide? How long of that has been on Denali? I started my guiding career in 2012 as a canoe guide in Connecticut on the small rivers there, but I didn’t start doing any climbing or mountain guiding until 2014. I started guiding on Denali in 2015, as an apprentice…
APU Spotlight
Meet James Temte, APU’s New Project Manager
What does your role at APU entail? I like to think of my role as the “Sweeper” in soccer. I fill in where is needed as well as work on special projects. One of the projects I will be working on is to establish a research center at APU that helps to provide opportunities for…
FAST Lab Uses Drones, Community Outreach in Collaboration with Nanwalek village
Each summer, Alaska’s mature salmon turn on their internal homing devices and return to their origin waters to finish out their life journey. But as the number of reds returning to the waters near the Alaska Native village of Nanwalek continues to ebb, it’s also drawn the return of community collaborators: APU’s Fisheries, Aquatic Science,…
New Elder Artists in Residence Program to Teach Art and Culture
Alaska Native elders and renowned artists, Joe and Martha Senungetuk, have been named the inaugural Elder Artists-in-Residence for the heARTS Healing Center and Studio at Alaska Pacific University. From November until June, the couple will use the art room in Atwood Center as their studio and mentoring space for any student, staff, or faculty member…
One Woman, Two Degrees (Soon to be Three, Plus a Certificate)
When Desirae Roehl moved to Anchorage from King Cove in the Aleutians in 2008, she was looking for new opportunities. She had had a job at her tribal office doing environmental outreach — a role that had her crafting a recycling program, doing assessments, and educating the community on environmental causes — that she enjoyed….
Activist to Host Community Event in Atwood to Kick Off AFN
The largest annual gathering of Native peoples in the United States will kick off with an event in Atwood Center on Sunday, October 15th. Spearheaded by local motivational speaker and performer, Samuel Johns, the event prior to the start of Alaska Federation of Natives Convention is called Decolonizing the Dream: Honoring our Sacred Mothers and…
Sharnel Vale: APU Student, ANTHC Employee, Community Builder
Growing up in Yakutat, a Southeast Alaska village of just over 600 people, basketball was everything for Sharnel Vale. The sport kept locals active, created camaraderie, and unified the town. “Basketball is the lifeblood of rural communities,” Vale said. “Half my time growing up was spent in the gym playing or practicing.” Her love of…
Q&A with LeeAnn Garrick, APU’s Board of Trustees Chairperson
LeeAnn Garrick’s path to becoming the first Chairperson of the new Board of Trustees formed as a result of the APU-ANTCH partnership was an unconventional one. Raised in Petersburg, she came to Anchorage for high school and college at UAA, where she received three degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s in English and a Master’s of Public Administration)….
Photo Club Spends Spring Break on the Beach … of Utqiagvik
While spring breakers throughout the U.S. headed south in search of warmer climes this month, APU’s Photo Club went north. Way north. For part of their break, eight students went to Utqiagvik (the city formerly known as Barrow) to work on their photography prowess. It’s not the first time the club has traveled to colder locales…
APU Student Becomes Alaska’s Only Certified Chess Coach
When it’s Jonathon Singler’s move, he sits back and surveys the chess board. He may imagine moving his knight two squares vertically and one square horizontally. He may consider moving his queen diagonally across the board. He may debate moving the rook back to better defend the king. But beyond that, he’s thinking of…
