Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Really Free Market: Not your everyday garage sale.

Ask most UAF students, and they’ll tell you Alaskans do some things a little differently than most folks in the lower 48. They might drive to work on a snow machine in the winter, choose to live without running water in a dry cabin, or have some reindeer sausage with their eggs in the morning. And the Really Free Market is no exception.


The basic idea of the Really Free Market is simple; sustainability can be simple and free.

Here’s how it works:

1) Members of the Fairbanks and UAF communities donate clean, safe unwanted items that still have some life left in them to the market. (For example, brand new Columbia jackets and sweaters or nice furniture pieces are not uncommon finds at the market.)

2) Anyone needing or wanting any of these items can show up during the designated Really Free Market dates and times to find what they’re looking for and take them home for free.

That’s it. No selling, bartering, or swapping takes place. Everything is free; no bucks needed! So bust out your calendar’s and circle August 14th, when the next Really Free Market will be held on UAF’s campus. Do things a little differently this summer, like an Alaskan!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

UAF Celebrates is 88th Commencement

Hello!
This weekend, UAF celebrated its 88th Commencement on May 16th at the Carlson Center here in Fairbanks. At the event, we honored more than 1,000 graduates completing programs ranging from Certificates all the way through PhDs. We were particularly honored to be conferring 42 PhDs this year, and three honorary PhDs. This was also President Hamilton's final Commencement as President, and he was honored with the title of President Emeritus, an honor which has only been given to three other presidents in UAF's nearly 90 Commencements.

On a personal note, there's a certain weight that comes with commencement. It actually hits you that you've completed something big, something important. For those reading this, I heartily encourage you to participate and walk if you can when you complete whatever program you dream of completing. It's a rite of passage, and you may think you're doing it for your family, I know I did, but I found out during the ceremony that it was really for me. I'm thrilled to still be involved in UAF's Commencements.

If you want to learn more about the event, read the official article here.

Thanks for reading, and Ad Summum!

Posted by Joe Alloway, Admissions Counselor, UAF Alum '07, '08, and soon to be '11

PS: Our class speaker for this year was excellent, check her out