UAF aviation students reach new heights!

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Tanana Valley Campus is pioneering a method of training aircraft mechanics that is likely to set the stage for training programs nationwide.

TVC’s aviation maintenance technology program is the only organization in the nation that is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to deliver the training via simulcast. A record 11 locations participated in the training earlier this month.

“This will likely spread throughout the country, proving once again that Alaska is on the cutting edge of American aviation and UAF/TVC is a leader in aviation maintenance education,” said program coordinator Kevin Alexander.

The second-year pilot program delivers training to aircraft mechanics located around Alaska via two-way webcasting. The webcast is delivered from the Butrovich Building on the Fairbanks campus.

The goal of the program is to increase training participation by the 1,400 authorized inspectors in Alaska. Participating locations in the training included Fairbanks, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Glennallen, Juneau, Sitka, Kenai, Ketchikan, Anchorage and Springfield, Ill.

"It's absolutely wonderful to be working with the FAA to help raise the level of safety and professionalism in the statewide aviation maintenance industry,” said TVC professional piloting program coordinator Roger Weggal. “The number of mechanics we're able to reach simultaneously and the ability to get real-time questions and answers from around the state is invaluable."

CONTACT: Michelle Renfrew, TVC information officer, 907-455-2833, mmrenfrew@alaska.edu

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Kevin Alexander, Aviation Maintenance Technology coordinator, at 907-322-5224 or via e-mail at akmechanic@aol.com.

8 days later.

What happened to me in the last eight days? Well...
- Purchased 72 lbs of rice pasta, 96 rolls of TP, 55 lbs of basmati and jasmine rice, 13 jars of spagetti sauces, 48 quarts of original rice milk, 20 lbs of potatoes, a dozen bottles of ketchup, and various other non-perishable items. (Not necessary because apparently they have food in Alaska.)
- Turned 30 years old somewhere while driving through British Columbia, Canada. (That's one way to celebrate a birthday!)
- Saw a buffalo, stone sheep, and deer licking pavement. (Not recommended.)
- Said good-bye to family and friends in Oregon, but found out my wife and I will be running a hotel in Fairbanks, AK this summer. (Every will be visiting us this summer.)
- Drove through a blizzard. (Okay maybe not an actual blizzard, but for about five minutes the snow flurry was pretty intense.)
- Packed everything we own in a 14 ft U-Haul. (Sadly, we could not fill it up.)
- And started a new job in Fairbanks, AK on Monday, March 8th. (Go Nanooks!)

Now wasn't that a better introduction than just saying: "Hi, my name is Christopher Wheeler and I just spent four and a half days driving from Oregon to UAF, along the Alaskan Highway, to begin my new job as an admissions counselor at UAF."

If you would like more details on anything I have written above or have questions about UAF, please feel free to leave your comments.

Until then, have a great day!

-Chris

UAF gets Fenged Up!

Hey everyone,
A student recently interviewed me for a film project for a class he was taking. The project was addressing the principles of Feng Shui and applying them to buildings. In particular, the student wanted to improve the Feng Shui of our very own Gruening Building. Check out the link here. Note: the audio on this video seemed a little off if you're not using headphones or external speaker.

I think this is great. It's a class project, but it's also an expression of creativity, fun, and embraces popular media, like youtube. And plus, that Admissions Counselor guy at the beginning was totally awesome ^_^

Thanks for reading, happy holidays, have a great night!

Joe Alloway
Admissions Counselor

Inu-Yupiaq Dance Group

One of the unique things about living in Alaska is the exposure to a rich cultural community. This includes student clubs and organizations such as the Inu-Yupiaq dance group. Here the Inu-Yupiaq dance group performs during the Festival of Native Arts (2007) on the UAF campus. The Festival of Native Arts takes place typically in the spring. It's a great time to plan your visit to campus!



Another reason why it's great to live in Fairbanks!

UAF's Alligator Hunter

This video was completed in 2001 by a few UAF students. It's hysterical and a great look back at how much as changed in 9 years! (Check out the computer monitor, the clothes, and the reference to Steve Erwin, Crocodile Hunter. I wonder where these alumni are today?

Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives

What happens when Guy Fieri visits Alaksa? He loves it! Check out one of our favorite Alaskan landmarks profiled on the Food Network. Silver Gulch Brewery is only a few miles outside of town. It's the perfect place to bring the folks or to go with a group of friends!

&@*! It's Cold!

When we're asked, "How cold does it get in Fairbanks?" it's impossible to cover up the hard truth that it gets absolutely, nose bitingly, hand chappingly cold here. The average winter temperature is at or around zero, but it is not uncommon for us to experience -20 to -50 degree temperatures.

So what! It's cold.

Students who choose to attend UAF know that the cold will be a factor, but they also know that there are many other things that they can do despite a little cold. Visit weedsoutwimps.uaf.edu to experience a little bit of what life is like for current students here in the arctic.

Brave the cold - come to Fairbanks!

'Tis the Giving Season

It's going to be a bloody holiday season - or at least we hope so. According to the Blood Bank of Alaska, 2200 people need to donate blood each month to meet the needs of patients in area hospitals. Yesterday, the Blood Bank of Alaska was on campus hosting a blood drive in the Wood Center, our student union. As a team, the Admissions Counselors decided we would make donating blood part of our celebration of the holiday season. Lael and Jessica are both getting ready to welcome new life into the world (or as Lael says, they're "prego"), so they weren't allowed to give blood, but they wished Carrie, Joe, and I luck as we headed over to donate a collective 1.5 liters of blood.

The phlebotomists and nurses' aides with the Blood Bank of Alaska were wonderful, and helped make the donation process really enjoyable, and it's great to know that the campus community is dedicated to making these regular blood drives a success.

You can read some great stories about donors and blood recipients on the Blood Bank of Alaska's Life Stories website.

We hope that when you join the UAF community, you'll participate in our strong tradition of volunteerism and service, and that no matter where you are now, that you consider giving the gift of life through blood donation.

Student Opportunities with NASA

Hey All,
As many readers out there may or may not know, UAF is a triple crown institution: Land, Sea and Space grant. As a Space grant institution, there is some very exciting research is going on with relation to space and the atmosphere at UAF, and our students are able to be involved. We're also the only school in the world that owns its own rocket range, Poker Flats, so our students and faculty can build and launch rockets to gather data from the atmosphere. We're hoping to launch a satellite sometime soon, so then we'll have the only University owned satellite launching range ^_^

This year, for students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math and some other programs will have an opportunity to apply for NASA internships and for a NASA Academy. So, for students interested in learning more about NASA and maybe laying the ground work to work for them after graduation, check out the application process here.

How cool is that, seriously? Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Joe Alloway, Admissions Counselor

More Halloween fun at UAF!

Hello Fiendish Fiends and Ghoulish Ghouls,

Yes indeed, another Halloween has come and gone. It was a fun one here at UAF. As you may have noticed, we thrilled the World, we did the great cover up, and for me . . . I dressed as the Riddler and made Homestar Runner pumpkins. It's the little things about the holidays at UAF that make it so much fun. Like the fact that there are so many things to do, and so many opportunities out there. Whatever you're into, you can express it at UAF, and that's really important when you're considering a college, eh?

Holidays are always fun, and we always look forward to the next one. For Thanksgiving, the UAF Outdoor Adventures Office is going hiking in the mountains and they're going to cook a turkey on a cabin cook stove. Perfect! That's so Alaskan!

Below I've included some of the photos I took and that were taken of me during the halloween festivities. Enjoy, and I'll be back to posting soon!

Sincerely,

Joe Alloway

UAF Admissions Counselor

Alumnus '07, '08

My wife Erin and I on the stair, posing in our costumes. Erin is Lulu from FF X, and I'm . . . The Riddler!

A group photo, Erin and our neighbors at the Halloween dance.
Senor Cardgage and a Duck. Truly, the greatest of pumpkins.
These are the pumpkins out neighbors did. I think they're both a little on the creepy side . . .