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Counseling and guidance alumna and 2025-26 Alumni of Achievement Deborah Morton is the recruiting, placement and mentor section supervisor at the Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ Military Youth Academy, where she guides families with teenagers who have struggled in traditional school environments.

Biological sciences alumna and 2025-26 Alumni Humanitarian Maile Johnston is a law clerk at the Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ Supreme Court and former Miss Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ whose advocacy work focuses on children in the foster care system and survivors of domestic violence.

Finance and marketing alumnus and 2025-26 Alumni Emerging Leader Vladislav Finko is a marketing strategist at Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ Wealth Advisors, whose strategic initiatives have generated roughly $150 million in new assets in a single year, helping the firm surpass $1 billion in managed assets.

In January 2026, and after six years away pursuing graduate studies at Dartmouth and Harvard, journalism and public communications alumnus Corey Hester was named COO of the Iditarod Trail Committee.

In this episode of Seawolf Voices, physical education alumnus and dog mushing instructor Robert Forto talks about why everyone should try dog mushing at least once, what training sled dogs can teach us about managing people and businesses, and shares his own aspirations for racing in the Iditarod.

The Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ has appointed Evan Steinberg as its new Strategic Engagement and Government Relations Officer, bringing to the university a seasoned public policy professional with experience spanning local, state and federal government.

Jay Butler, a longtime Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æn public health leader, officially stepped into the role of UAA College of Health Dean on Dec. 28. With decades of experience shaping health care at the state and national level, Butler is focused on preparing the next generation of providers to meet Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ’s unique needs.

Health sciences major and psychology minor Maisha Chowdhury describes choosing to attend UAA as the best decision of her life (so far) and for making her the person she is today. The fall 2025 undergraduate commencement speaker hopes her own journey inspires others to take risks and follow their passion.

As a neonatal nurse practitioner at Providence Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ Children’s Hospital and adjunct faculty member for the UAA School of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice alumna and graduate student hooding ceremony speaker for the fall Class of 2025 Stacy Brunquist weaves education into everything she does — training new caregivers, guiding parents learning to care for their newborns, and sharing knowledge with professionals from UtqiaÄ¡vik to Sitka.

Ten years ago, biological sciences alumna Valeria Delgado Lopez helped enact UAA's smoke- and tobacco-free campus policy. Today, she works as a health promotions manager at the American Lung Association in Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ where she focuses on prevention and education.