Published Nov 22, 2023 by Josh Reed

Early in the 2023-24 season, the University of Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team is off to its hottest start in recent history with a 6-0 record.

The Seawolves have received contributions from numerous players, but senior guard Tyson Gilbert has been a major catalyst for their success.

Three years ago, Gilbert’s basketball career nearly came to an end before he could even suit up for the green and gold, when he discovered he had a congenital heart defect that required open-heart surgery if he wished to continue competing.

After recovering from that setback, he suffered another in the form of a torn Achilles tendon that cost him another season. He made his long-awaited return to the court last season. He started 21-of-27 games and finished as the Seawolves’ leading scorer with 280 points.

Gilbert didn’t just pick up where he left off, he has built upon that success and is playing at an even higher level.

Published Nov 21, 2023 by Arctic Business Journal

The UAF AISES Chapter received the Cultural Practice Award during the 46th annual American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference in Spokane, WA. The award, the very first given this year, recognizes chapters that demonstrate the use of cultural practices that help students preserve their Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing through chapter meetings and activities.

Baxter Bond, a research engineer at the UAF Alaska Center for Energy and Power, is a co-staff advisor for the UAF AISES Chapter. He works often in the background, organizing bi-weekly chapter meetings and guiding officers.

Bond and three UAF students attended the 2023 AISES National Conference from Oct. 19-21. The three-day conference focused on educational, professional and workforce development for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and First Nation high school and college students, educators, professionals, tribal nations and tribal enterprises, universities, corporations and government agencies. With numerous sponsors, it also hosted the nation’s largest Indigenous college and career fair.

The three students were Kristen Reece, a fisheries major, and Asa Pitka and Karsten Sierra, both studying engineering. Pitka was offered an internship at the conference. Sierra worked as an ACEP intern this summer.

Over 3,000 attendees gathered from Canada and the United States for more than 200 sessions during this year’s conference.