Published Apr 4, 2024 by Staff report

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Music is hosting a music celebration Sunday afternoon.

The UAF Music Celebration Concert features music from the students and faculty at the Department of Music. The event includes performances from groups including the Alaska Trio, Choir of the North, Percussion Ensemble and the Northern Lights String Ensemble.

Published Apr 4, 2024 by Josh Reed

The Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) announced the Class of 2024 of the Alaska High School Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Among the 14 individuals who will be inducted are former Valdez basketball star Carl Arts and former Bartlett football star Zack Bowman. The ceremony honoring the class is at 2 p.m. May 7 at the Special Olympics Alaska Jim Balamaci Training Center in Anchorage.

The Hall was established to identify and permanently honor individuals who displayed “high ethical standards and integrity while achieving excellence in high school athletics and activities,” according to ASAA. It also recognizes those who have made “exemplary contributions.”

Categories include students who participated in athletics, academic activities, and fine arts, as well as contributors who served as coaches, advisors, directors, administrators, officials and adjudicators. Any former student must have graduated at least five years ago to be eligible for induction. This year’s class marks the 19th in the hall’s history and features six athletes, five coaches, two lifetime achievement honorees, and one activities participant.

Published Apr 4, 2024 by Jeff Helminiak

Kenai Central senior Emma Beck signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday in the Kenai Central gym.

At the table where she signed, Beck was surrounded by the reasons UAA would want her — trophies from Class 3A state titles in 2022 and 2023, the state banner for the 2023 title and the banner for Beck winning the Gatorade Alaska Volleyball Player of the Year for 2023-24.

Sitting next to Beck at the table, and arranged in the audience, were some big reasons Beck wanted to play at UAA.

At the table with Beck were her brother, current UAA student Hunter Beck; her father, Dan Beck; and her mother and volleyball coach, Tracie Beck.

Published Apr 3, 2024 by Claire Stremple

With three months until the deadline, only 16% of Alaska high school seniors have applied for federal student aid.

The funding mechanism, called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, is an indicator of college-bound students.

Alaska has the lowest rate of applicants in the nation, which has been true for at least the last decade, said Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education Executive Director Sana Efrid.

“The No. 1 reason we hear from students and families that they do not enroll in post-secondary programs is the cost,” she said.

The application has been revised this year, and the federal government was slow to make it available. Even among students who have applied across the country, there have been federal delays in processing the data.

In Alaska, the low application numbers have implications for the state’s workforce, she said, because they mean Alaskans are losing access to a funding source that’s crucial to meeting the state’s post-secondary school and workforce funding needs.

Efrid said the federal grants available through the FAFSA application can go a long way towards covering University of Alaska tuition.