New Classic Car Museum in Fairbanks

Hey Fans!

I have something very exciting to share with you all. There is a new museum in Fairbanks! I know that makes me sound like a museum dork, but check out the content: Classic Cars from 1900-1940, with an emphasis on the history of the Automobile in Alaska. I was able to see a Peerless, a Pierce Arrow, and 3 packards (the three "P's" of classic cars) in the same day! There were also three cars which are the last surviving or their model, and a few cars with production as low as 25 cars. It just opened this june, and is well worth the trip, if you are in the Fairbanks area. Thanks for reading, check it out if you can, and have a great weekend!

Joe
PS: Lots of pictures to come, they're on the camera at home :)

Enjoying the great outdoors in Alaska

Hey Future and Current Nanooks,

About a week ago I decided to go climbing and hiking out at Angel Rocks about 50 miles out of Fairbanks. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great hike. Afterwords, I went out to the Chena Hot Springs Resort and went for a soak in the natural hot spring. Since I was there, I also went to the Aurora Ice Museum, which is the world's largest year round ice facility. Of course, being from Alaska, ice is nothing new to me, but it was fun to see all the carvings in one of the hottest months of the year.

One of the great things about living in Fairbanks and attending UAF is that you are IN Alaska. If you have any interest in the great outdoors, this is a pretty great place. We highly encourage our students to get out an enjoy it with our wide array of intramural sports and our Outdoor Adventure Office. If you're coming up for Orientation, be sure to check out the Wilderness Welcome!

Thanks for reading, and excelsior!
Joe

PS: Photos coming, they're on my camera at home.

Baby Animals!

Hey True Believers,

OK, I'm gonna go out on a limb here: baby animals are adorable. There, I said it. But the internet's been saying it for me with phenomena like LOL Cats and Cute or Sad. Today I'd like to tell you about a cute overload at the University of Alaska Fairbanks: baby Musk Oxen, Reindeeer and Caribou at the Large Animal Research Station (LARS). This last saturday the farm had its annual Spring calving event/open house. This was an opportunity for people to visit LARS and see the cute babies, take pictures, and learn more about the farm. Look at those babies and tell me you don't want one of your own!

I know I said this in a blog post last year, but the research being done at LARS is awesome. Not to mention how rare it is for students to be able to work with such rare animals in such a safe, controlled and well supported setting. If you have an interest in Biology or Wildlife, I highly recommend you check out some of the opportunities here at UAF.

Thanks for reading, and my next post will have pictures from Denali National Park, so stay tuned!

Joe

Photo Credits: Joe Alloway and Erin Harris, 2009. Above: Me with babies in the background. Below, Super Adorable Caribou and Musk Oxen!

Happy Commencement at UAF!

Dear Legion of Loyal Fans,

Mothers' Day has come and gone, and UAF has celebrated it the same way we have for the last 87 year: commencement. This year we had approximately 600 students attend commencement for degree programs everywhere from Occupational Endorsements to PhDs. We had a grand total of 37 PhDs, which is wonderful.

Commencement is always a wonderful day for me, and this year was extra special: I was asked to be the announcer. Believe it or not, as comfortable as I am with speaking in public, I was very stressed about mispronouncing names. They worked so hard to get here, the least I can do is say it right, eh? We also had some all-star speakers at this year's commencement: Vic Fisher, one of the surviving drafters of the Alaska Constitution, and Jennifer Williams, our president of UAF's Associated Students of Business. And the Carlson Center was totally packed with family, friends, and well wishers. Wherever you are, I highly recommend you get involved with commencement. I can say from experience, it never gets old, and it gives you a certain perspective on life. I don't know, I just love it. Thank you for reading, my next post will be about baby animals!

Stay tuned for the next exciting adventure!

Joe

Photo Credits: Todd Paris, UAF Marketing and Communications.

Photo information: Top, Joe Alloway, UAF's Commencement announcer. Next, Vic Fisher, 2009 Commencement Speaker. Middle, Mariah Acton, one of my Student Ambassadors, Graduating with multiple honors. Bottom, Heather Neal, another one of my Ambassadors, supports fellow engineer Tess Caswell.

Earth Day and Spring Fest Service at UAF

Hey Everyone,
Well, Spring has finally sprung, and everyone here at the university of Alaska Fairbanks couldn't be happier. The whole campus and entire city have been alive with activity! On Sunday we had a group bike ride around campus with free tune-ups for summer riders, yesterday was Earth Day, marked by some great discussion and presentations from the UAF Sustainable Campus Task Force, and April 23-25 are marked by UAF's traditional Springfest events.

Springfest is one of my favorite traditions at UAF, because it gets the entire campus together to celebrate the community and the wonderful feeling that comes with Spring. We have service events all over campus, building projects for local charities, campus beautification projects under way, and lots of good old fashioned fun. During Springfest, you can expect to see tons of volleyball, frisbee, dodgeball, and more BBQs than you can shake a stick at! I'll be attending some events later, so I'll post you some photos as soon as I have them. If you have a chance, check out some of the Spring events, and shake off that cabin fever. The weather's beautiful, so get out and have a blast!

Joe

UAF Student Named to University Board of Regents

"Governor Palin appointed Ashton Compton to the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

The 11-member Board of Regents governs the statewide University of Alaska system; formulates university policy, and appoints the University’s president. By law, one member is a full-time student of the University, appointed by the governor from a slate of candidates selected by student election at each of the university’s campuses. Student regents serve a two-year term, compared to the eight-year term of other regents.

Compton, of Fairbanks, is a junior political science major at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). She has worked as a program assistant for UAF Student Organizations since 2008. Compton has also worked as a page and assistant sergeant-at-arms for the Alaska State Legislature from 2005-07.

Compton is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and the Two Rivers and North Star Grange organizations. She is co-founder and president of the Red Cross Club of UAF, and performs volunteer service with the Fairbanks Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the Alternative Spring Break and Youth Service Opportunity programs. She was born in Fairbanks, and attended schools in Alaska and Idaho. Her appointment represents the first time the Board of Regents has included a student from the UAF campus since 2002.

“It is a pleasure to appoint to the Board of Regents an outstanding young woman who was not only born in Fairbanks, but who has returned home to pursue her education at the leading campus of the University of Alaska system,” said Governor Palin. “Ashton Compton’s dedication to service is manifested by her involvement in university organizations, her service in the state Legislature, and her volunteer work in her home town. I have every confidence she will represent her campus and community well as a University regent.”"

Source: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1735

Moose-Crossing

My neighbor Agota (she's from Hungary and is a Ph.D. Candidate in Engineering), just stopped by with a great treat. We live just a twenty-minute walk from campus, and she shot this at the end of our driveway.



The the moose (or "elk", for our European 'Nooks)carefully looks both ways before crossing the street.

This video combines two things that I really appreciate about being at UAF - the wildlife and the great community in which we get to share our experiences.