Last post is a giant thank you to our bloggers!

We'll leave the Great Beginnings blog up for a few more days. It's still getting close to 200 hits a day, but our last full day of posting was Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. By now, the new semester is upon us and the only thing left to do is SETTLE IN AND GET TO WORK, n'est pas!

Stats can be fun, though. Our back-to-campus blog was an experiment that earned its readership. We'll register 3,500 hits by the end of business. The most popular post was the introduction that explained our project. But the second most-popular post? A link to a story about how to decorate your dorm room with holiday lights. Apparently, news-you-can-use!

Being helpful was a major goal of this flash blog. To that end, a special thank you to Laura Volden of the Registrar's Office and Kristi Powell of the UAA Consortium Library.  Volden's tips on add/drop were in the top three posts for Friday, the day of the deadline. Powell's insider secrets to the library, especially the little-known services students can use, was so useful it earned a mention in Green & Gold.

Hats off to Nikkie Viotto who posted while traveling with the Seawolf Volleyball squad in Hawaii and California. They say if you need something done, ask a busy person. So true! And what fun to hear from the team, even if we couldn't sit in the bleachers and root for them!

The UAA Campus Bookstore offered tips from three seasoned students. Thanks to Joycelyn the magnificent,  Justin Hanson in TechZone and international student Gor Galstyan. IT Services offered a behind-the-scenes reality show of Spirit coding the new UAA homepage!

Personal stories were fun to read, too, from The Northern Light  columnist Kate Lindsley's apartment-hunting from Connecticut and UAA parking misadventures to Joseph Selmont's procrastination confessions. But then, there were always those tantalizing tips on caffeine remedies from Christina Grimsley, the best-known barista on UAA's whole campus. And given our coffee consumption, that says something!

We can't mention everyone who contributed or this post will be as long as our whole blog, with upwards of 85 posts during the first two weeks of school!

Thank you, bloggers! And thank you,  readers. All comments and suggestions for future improvement are welcome! Just hit the comment button and share.

Have a great semester!

Arena Celebration: As Spirit says, 'It's a Great Day to be a Seawolf!'

Right now, this very minute (5:23 p.m. Sept. 9), a large crowd is gathered in Wells Fargo Sports Center, on the same sports court where the Seawolf VB team will be practicing later tonight for their game against St. Martin's tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at WFSC.

Many friends of UAA are gathered there to celebrate the progress toward a brand new sports facility for UAA. Here's one of the schematics that was in the hallway so people could view it on their way to their seats.

Here's a shot of the stage with a 'line-up' of arena supporters that included Governor Sean Parnell,
Mayor Dan Sullivan, Chancellor Tom Case, UA Regent Kenneth Fisher, Senator Kevin Meyer and Rep. Bill Stoltz.  Good friend Arliss Sturgulewski

There's Nikkie, second from left!

AND, one of our fantastic Great Beginnings bloggers, VB team member Nikkie Viotto. She was escorted to the stage by none other than Spirit! Congratulations, Nikkie! You make us proud. Good luck in tonight's game!

One of the BEST things was a fun video about how Tom Case and Spirit found the right place to build the new arena. Missed it, or just wanna see it again? Here you go!

Chancellor's welcome, with a scoop of ice cream

One scoop or two?

Before our Fall 2011 Great Beginnings blog comes to a close, I just wanted to jump on and include my welcome to everyone — staff, faculty, students and their families. I’ve enjoyed all of our launching activities, from the inspiration of Freshman Convocation to the spirited fun of Kick-Off, where I had the delicious task of scooping the ice cream!

Now, as this beautiful September week comes to a close, it feels right to turn with purpose to the good work before us. I wish each and every one of  you a year of discovery and success. This is a great day — and a great year — to be a Seawolf!

Tom

The Latte 411 and a head's up on next week's specials

Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into that latte you just ordered? Let's say it's a 16 oz. Island Dream Latte.

For starters we steam milk of your choice to 160 degrees unless asked otherwise. We add the flavor of choice in the cup and in this case its the Island Dream. Island Dream flavor is a combination of coconut, raspberry and a hint of vanilla. The steamed milk is mixed together with the flavors and the shot of espresso, thus creating the latte you just ordered.

Lately at the coffee shop from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., we go through about six-eight gallons of whole milk and two-three gallons of fat free milk. We use up to five pounds of coffee grind for our house coffee and up to 10 pounds of whole beans a day. Myself, and my night shift barista, Marci, have a great time putting together all these drinks and making coffee life a little nicer.

As for me and my previous spot in the Student Union, I have been able to see some people from the SU, I guess they just can't go without getting their coffee from me. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., I am super busy and don't have a lot of time to talk to people and make new friends. However, from 1-3 p.m. are my management hours and I get to go around to the other coffee shops (Fireside and the Union Station) and see how everything is running, and see some familiar faces.

Besides being a full time barista, I am a student here at UAA. I am currently just taking two classes after work so that I can move toward my degree. My goal is to become a physical therapist with a sports injury focus. Having class and work can be a little stressful, but I'm getting better at it.

Heads up for next week's drink specials:

Monday: Cherry Jubilee Latte
Tuesday: Chocolate Covered Cherry Mocha
Wednesday: Strawberry and Cherry Smoothie
Thursday: Cherry Kiss White Chocolate Mocha
Friday: Cherry Limeade Italian Soda

Hope to see you at the coffee shop!
- Christina

Archives & Special Collections says 'welcome back, and come visit'

Archives & Special Collections on the third floor of the Consortium Library welcomes everyone back to school at UAA and invites you to come take a look at our collections!

Our archives hold unique, one-of-a-kind materials that are not typically published nor are available through other resources – all relating to the history of Alaska and especially Southcentral Alaska.  These include personal diaries and letters, thousands of photographs, moving image film, audio recordings, scrapbooks, and many other documents.

Our collections contain the papers of Alaskan politicians and legislators, public policy institutes, civic organizations, businesses, doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers, anthropologists, military personnel, academics, dancers, artists, journalists, photographers, and sometimes just your average Alaska families.  If you browse through our complete collections list, you’ll see that our holdings represent the diversity that is Alaska.

We also have some materials relating to the history of UAA as it has grown through the years, and you also find the Library’s collection of rare books and student theses in the Archives.  

UAA Archives & Special Collections also posts digital images of our historical photographs and manuscripts on the Alaska’s Digital Archives website.  You can browse the website for thousands of archival documents and images from our collections at UAA, as well as from the archives at the Alaska & Polar Regions Collection at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska State Library Historical Collections, the Anchorage Museum, and other Alaskan institutions.  It’s an amazing resource for finding primary source material for your classes – or just if you’re curious and want to look at photos of Alaska’s history!

Come visit us any time in the Archives.  We can help you find primary sources for your research for classes such as history, anthropology, geography and environmental studies, health and medicine, psychology, English, Alaska Native studies, journalism and many other subjects.

We’re open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and you can reach us at archives@uaa.alaska.edu if you have any questions.  Our friendly archivists are waiting to help you dive into Alaska history!

Welcome back, UAA!

This post written and contributed by Megan Friedel, one of our Archivists here in the UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives & Special Collections department.

It's DEADLINE day: Last day to add/drop and pay your bill

From Associate Registrar Lora Volden comes this important reminder.:

Please do not wait until the last minute.  Classes can be dropped online until 11:59 p.m. but do so earlier.  There may be a reason that you won’t be able to drop.  Perhaps the course is not full-term or is taught at KPC or another school, or maybe you have a hold on your account.  Any of these things could prohibit you from dropping the class and after 5 p.m. you won’t be able to reach us.

You may also pay your bill online with a credit card; you do not need to come to the cashier’s window unless you choose to do so.  Our office will close at 5 p.m. so make sure you arrive in plenty of time to have your business complete.  Congratulations! We all survived the first two weeks -- it’s a great day to be a Seawolf!
 

Party celebrates new UAA sports arena Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Finally, UAA is about to begin its new sports arena facility. So come enjoy some cake and watch a GREAT
short video of Chancellor Tom Case and Seawolf, searching for just the right spot for the new arena.

The party is short, just an hour, followed by a Meet & Greet with all the UAA athletes, including hot dogs and soft drinks to boot. Come shake the hand of a Seawolf and share the vision for the new arena. Read about it in Green & Gold.