University Of Alaska Anchorage: Over $12K Raised At Virtual Homecoming Luncheon

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

October 12, 2021

On Oct. 8 more than 100 UAA graduates joined the Homecoming Luncheon from across the country to reconnect with their alma mater while raising donations,
sponsorships and gift matches to benefit UAA programs and scholarships. In just one
hour, the gathered alumni raised more than $12,000, which will be carried forward
to UA Giving Day in the form of an Alumni Association Matching Gift Challenge.

Typically a ticketed breakfast taking place at the Alaska Airlines Center, this year’s
Homecoming Luncheon was held online for the second year due to coronavirus safety
precautions. Thanks to sponsorships from Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Siemens, Odom Corporation,
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Communications, Chugach Alaska Corporation,
MSI Communications, Northrim Bank and R&M Consultants, the event was open to the entirety
of Seawolf Nation.

Despite the change, the afternoon alumni celebration featured many of the hallmarks
of an in-person Homecoming event, including complimentary grab-and-go lunches prepared
by UAA Culinary Arts, a performance of the alma mater by the UAA Glee Club and an
address from Chancellor Sean Parnell.

This year, the UAA Alumni Association was thrilled to welcome keynote speaker and
alumna Princess Daazhraii Johnson, M.Ed. Teaching and Learning ’17, to share her story advocating for community and
amplifying Indigenous voices. Johnson is the former executive director for the Gwich’in
Steering Committee and is a founding member of the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition.
Most recently, she served as creative producer on the Peabody Award-winning PBS show
Molly of Denali.

This press release was produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage. The views expressed here are the author’s own.