University Of Alaska Anchorage: Seawolves Offer Support

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

January 18, 2022

1. About UAA

   1. 
      About UAA
      
      

      UAA is the premier university in the heart of Alaska's largest city with campuses throughout
      Southcentral Alaska. Where culture, innovation and adventure converge, the unique
      locations provide unparalleled access to industry connections, Arctic research, outdoor
      recreation and more, facilitating once-in-a-lifetime experiences, groundbreaking education and
      impactful careers.

Popular links

1. UAA 2025: Strategic Plan
2. Chancellor
3. Equity, Compliance and Title IX

Popular links

1. Visit and Tour
2. Academic Programs
3. Transfer to UAA
4. FAFSA, Aid and Scholarships

Locations

1. Enrollment Services Center

1. 
   About UAA
   
   

   UAA is the premier university in the heart of Alaska's largest city with campuses throughout
   Southcentral Alaska. Where culture, innovation and adventure converge, the unique
   locations provide unparalleled access to industry connections, Arctic research, outdoor
   recreation and more, facilitating once-in-a-lifetime experiences, groundbreaking education and
   impactful careers.

   Popular links

   1. UAA 2025: Strategic Plan
   2. Chancellor
   3. Equity, Compliance and Title IX

2. About UAA

   ---

   1. Diversity and Inclusion
   2. Equity, Compliance and Title IX

3. Administration

   ---

   1. Chancellor
   2. Academic Affairs
   3. Administrative Services
   4. Advancement
   5. Student Affairs

4. Campuses

   ---

   1. Kenai Peninsula
   2. Kodiak
   3. Matanuska Susitna
   4. Prince William Sound

5. UAA 2025: Strategic Plan
   

   ---

   1. About UAA 2025
   2. Putting Students First
   3. 
      Embracing Diversity and
      Inclusion
      
   4. Community Partner
   5. Impact through Innovation
   6. 
      Excellence Through
      Continuous Improvement
      

1. UAA 2025: Strategic Plan
2. Chancellor
3. Equity, Compliance and Title IX

1. Diversity and Inclusion
2. Equity, Compliance and Title IX

1. Chancellor
2. Academic Affairs
3. Administrative Services
4. Advancement
5. Student Affairs

1. Kenai Peninsula
2. Kodiak
3. Matanuska Susitna
4. Prince William Sound

1. About UAA 2025
2. Putting Students First
3. 
   Embracing Diversity and
   Inclusion
   
4. Community Partner
5. Impact through Innovation
6. 
   Excellence Through
   Continuous Improvement
   

1. 
   Academics
   
   

   UAA offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs that consistently prepare students for success after
   graduation. State-of-the-art classroom instruction and hands-on learning collide in UAA's innovative academic
   programs, which feature unique courses that train students to lead Alaska into the future.

   Popular links

   1. Academic Programs
   2. Advising
   3. Dates and Deadlines
   4. Academic Affairs

2. Colleges and Schools

   ---

   1. Arts and Sciences
   2. Business and Public Policy
   3. Engineering
   4. Health
   5. Community and Technical
   6. Honors
   7. School of Education
   8. Graduate School

3. Provost

   ---

   1. Apprenticeship Programs
   2. Continuing Education
   3. Business Enterprise Institute

1. Academic Programs
2. Advising
3. Dates and Deadlines
4. Academic Affairs

1. Arts and Sciences
2. Business and Public Policy
3. Engineering
4. Health
5. Community and Technical
6. Honors
7. School of Education
8. Graduate School

1. Apprenticeship Programs
2. Continuing Education
3. Business Enterprise Institute

1. 
   Admissions and Financial Aid
   
   

   Learn more about admissions processes, taking
   classes, tour UAA in-person or virtually, and find out more about Financial Aid available at UAA. Whether you are a new or continuing student,
   the Office of Financial Aid is available to offer support and advice so you can make informed decisions regarding
   college funding options. Get help at the Enrollment Services Center: offering virtual and walk-in appointments to
   help students apply to UAA; get help with financial aid, scholarships, and the FAFSA.

   Popular links

   1. Visit and Tour
   2. Academic Programs
   3. Transfer to UAA
   4. FAFSA, Aid and Scholarships

   Locations

   1. Enrollment Services Center

2. Admissions

   ---

   1. How to Apply
   2. Transfer to UAA
   3. Academic Programs
   4. Visit and Tour
   5. Request more Info
   6. Contact Admissions

3. Financial Aid

   ---

   1. FAFSA, Aid and Scholarships
   2. Additional Payment Options
   3. Check your Status
   4. Student Responsibilities
   5. 
      Cost of Attendance, Aid Types and Planning Tools
      

1. Visit and Tour
2. Academic Programs
3. Transfer to UAA
4. FAFSA, Aid and Scholarships

1. Enrollment Services Center

1. How to Apply
2. Transfer to UAA
3. Academic Programs
4. Visit and Tour
5. Request more Info
6. Contact Admissions

1. FAFSA, Aid and Scholarships
2. Additional Payment Options
3. Check your Status
4. Student Responsibilities
5. 
   Cost of Attendance, Aid Types and Planning Tools
   

1. 
   Athletics
   
   

   From 13 competitive NCAA teams to recreation and intramural and club sports, students have the opportunity to
   excel in athletics at every level. The Alaska Airlines Center and Seawolf Sports Complex offer recreation as well
   as hosting community events and concerts. Students can take advantage of cheering for SeawolfNation with free
   tickets to many games.

   Popular links

   1. Seawolf Online Store
   2. Recreation
   3. Intramurals

   Locations

   1. Alaska Airlines Center
   2. Seawolf Sports Complex

2. Go Seawolves

   ---

   1. Upcoming Seawolves Games
   2. Tickets
   3. Staff Directory

3. Women's Sports

   ---

   1. Basketball
   2. Cross Country
   3. Gymnastics
   4. Skiing
   5. Track and Field
   6. Volleyball

4. Men's Sports

   ---

   1. Basketball
   2. Cross Country
   3. Hockey
   4. Skiing
   5. Track and Field

1. Seawolf Online Store
2. Recreation
3. Intramurals

1. Alaska Airlines Center
2. Seawolf Sports Complex

1. Upcoming Seawolves Games
2. Tickets
3. Staff Directory

1. Basketball
2. Cross Country
3. Gymnastics
4. Skiing
5. Track and Field
6. Volleyball

1. Basketball
2. Cross Country
3. Hockey
4. Skiing
5. Track and Field

1. 
   Research
   
   

   UAA is a hub for cutting-edge theoretical and applied research in health, engineering, and the physical and
   social sciences. In nearly every discipline, undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to join
   research teams and collaborate with experienced faculty mentors.

1. Sponsored Programs
2. Research Integrity and Compliance
3. Graduate School

1. 
   Student Services
   
   

   Explore the wide variety of services and resources available at UAA to help promote your
   academic and personal
   success and well-being. From academic advising to student clubs and residence life, we're
   here to help you have an
   amazing university experience.

   Popular links

   1. Advising
   2. Bookstore
   3. Dates and Deadlines
   4. Transcripts
   5. USUAA Student Governance
   6. Library
   7. 
      Student Health and
      Counseling Center
      

   Locations

   1. Student Union
   2. Enrollment Services Center
   3. Student Health and Counseling Center

2. Current Students

   ---

   1. Advising
   2. Bookstore
   3. Registration, Dates and Deadlines
   4. Military and Veteran Student Services
   5. Degree Progress
   6. Transfer Credit
   7. Graduation
   8. Career Services

3. Student Life

   ---

   1. Engage
   2. Organizations and Clubs
   3. Activities and Programs
   4. Student Union
   5. Multicultural Student Services
   6. Recreation

4. Residence Life

   ---

   1. Housing Options
   2. Apply for Housing
   3. Current Residents
   4. Info for Parents/Guardians
   5. Contact Residence Life

5. Student Leadership
   

   ---

   1. USUAA Student Governance
   2. Student Media
   3. Concert Board
   4. Green Fee Board
   5. Club Council
   6. Emerging Leaders Program

1. Advising
2. Bookstore
3. Dates and Deadlines
4. Transcripts
5. USUAA Student Governance
6. Library
7. 
   Student Health and
   Counseling Center
   

1. Student Union
2. Enrollment Services Center
3. Student Health and Counseling Center

1. Advising
2. Bookstore
3. Registration, Dates and Deadlines
4. Military and Veteran Student Services
5. Degree Progress
6. Transfer Credit
7. Graduation
8. Career Services

1. Engage
2. Organizations and Clubs
3. Activities and Programs
4. Student Union
5. Multicultural Student Services
6. Recreation

1. Housing Options
2. Apply for Housing
3. Current Residents
4. Info for Parents/Guardians
5. Contact Residence Life

1. USUAA Student Governance
2. Student Media
3. Concert Board
4. Green Fee Board
5. Club Council
6. Emerging Leaders Program

1. 
   Alaska Natives
   
   

   Located in the ancestral homelands of the Dena'ina, Ahtna Dene, Alutiiq/Sugpiak, Chugachmiut and Eyak peoples,
   Alaska Native curriculum at UAA provides an in-depth perspective on contemporary Alaska Native societies,
   languages, cultures, history, politics, art, governments and corporations.

2. Academic Programs

   ---

   1. 
      Alaska Native Studies
      — Anchorage Campus
      
   2. 
      Alaska Native Studies
      — Kenai Peninsula College
      
   3. 
      Alutiiq Studies — Kodiak
      College
      
   4. Alaska Native Business Management Minor

3. Student Support

   ---

   1. Native Student Services
   2. Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP)
   3. 
      Alaska Native
      Community Advancement in Psychology (ANCAP)
      
   4. 
      Alaska Native, Indigenous & Rural Outreach
      Program (ANIROP)
      
   5. 
      Recruitment and Retention of
      Alaska Natives into Nursing (RRANN)
      

1. 
   Alaska Native Studies
   — Anchorage Campus
   
2. 
   Alaska Native Studies
   — Kenai Peninsula College
   
3. 
   Alutiiq Studies — Kodiak
   College
   
4. Alaska Native Business Management Minor

1. Native Student Services
2. Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP)
3. 
   Alaska Native
   Community Advancement in Psychology (ANCAP)
   
4. 
   Alaska Native, Indigenous & Rural Outreach
   Program (ANIROP)
   
5. 
   Recruitment and Retention of
   Alaska Natives into Nursing (RRANN)
   

A version of this story originally appeared in UAA Alumni Spirit magazine in December
2021. View the full magazine here.

Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Miyagi
and Daniel LaRusso. Plato and Aristotle. Throughout history and fiction, mentorships
have opened doors for people to discover breakthroughs or assuredly move in the right
direction.

Looking at the numbers, university students who have mentors are 14% more likely to graduate. In the workforce, mentees are promoted five times more often than those without mentors. The benefits swing both ways, as mentors themselves are
promoted six times as often. All in all, of both mentors and mentees, 87% feel empowered by their relationships.

In May 2020, UAA launched Seawolf Mentor, a program hosted through Mentor Collective, a nonprofit that runs peer mentorship
programs for colleges and universities nationwide. Originally focused on pairing freshmen
and first-time students with experienced undergrad mentors, the success of the pilot
program allowed it to expand to include graduate student mentees and alumni mentors. 

As of September 2021, more than 178 undergraduate and graduate mentees have been partnered
with 71 student and alumni mentors, logging in nearly 3,000 conversations and texts.

For those who are returning

Before Seawolf Mentor, opportunities for students to seek mentorship or offer guidance
were limited. Events like Career Networking Night sometimes filled the gap, where
alumni would come to campus to answer questions about their careers from undergrads
interested in pursuing those fields. Another solution was College Survival Skills,
a since-discontinued prep course specifically designed to help new students transition
into university life.

Alyeska Pipeline technical maintenance planner Jessica Jacobsen, B.S. Construction
Management ’13, M.S. Project Management ’19, credits College Survival Skills with
her own successful traversal of undergrad. It was so important, in fact, that when
she returned to UAA to pursue her graduate degree after time away, she was disappointed
to see that it was no longer offered, much less that no equivalent for master’s students
was available. 

“College Survival Skills helped me navigate the university system so I could not fail.
But they no longer offered it when I came back for my master’s. It was pretty much,
you're on your own, you should already know,” said Jacobsen. “Then for the end of
the degree, the capstone, that was a doozy. So I wanted to make sure that if I had
a chance to help other students prepare for what was coming, maybe they wouldn't have
to go through what I had to. I've never had a mentor, so I wanted to provide something
I was never able to have.”

Among the earliest to enroll in Seawolf Mentor, today Jacobsen mentors nine mentees,
including Maicel Fuhriman. Similar to Jacobsen, Fuhriman is a fellow project management
graduate student and returned to work toward her master’s degree after taking a break,
and moving to Alaska from Idaho in the process. Fuhriman explains that mentorship
has always been a key part of her trajectory, having consistently had a mentor in
teachers and professors from kindergarten all the way to undergrad. 

“I've always needed to give myself a backboard to bounce off. I’m always going for
the corner shots that I need support for, so mentors are super beneficial,” said Fuhriman.
“I'm glad I have Jessica in my corner because it's like I have somebody I can lean
on, somebody I can bounce ideas off of, somebody there to help even if I didn't ask.
The greatest thing about having her as a mentor is all the ways she helps without
knowing, through all these conversations about the most random things that help during
school and even outside school.”

Of the many school- and life-related topics the pair talks about, what’s been most
helpful for Fuhriman is asking Jacobsen about how to approach certain professors and
projects, all of which are still very fresh in Jacobsen’s memory.

“I wish [Seawolf Mentor] was here when I was in school,” said Jacobsen. “I used to
seek out professors as mentors, even though we never quite labeled it that. When the
opportunity came up, I really wanted it, and now I can provide it.”

“I'm glad it's here when I am,” added Fuhriman. “Especially with the pandemic, having
somebody to talk to is important and can ease a lot of anxiety. In the future, I look
forward to moving from a mentee to a mentor. I hope I can make that transition.”

For those who are juggling

After receiving a first graduate degree without guidance, working toward a second
should be a breeze. However, Master of Public Health student Alexandra Edwards, M.A.
Anthropology ’12, decided this year to try a different approach. Committing to saying
yes to more networking opportunities that crossed her path, Edwards applied to be
a mentee. Hoping to be paired with someone who could relate to the balancing act of
pursuing higher education while parenting, she found exactly that in Steffi Kim, M.S.
Clinical Psychology '18, Ph.D. Clinical-Community Psychology '20.

“I was hoping to be put in touch with someone like Steffi, someone who knows what
it's like to try and complete a program with young kids and who is in that early stage
of their career and is a nontraditional student,” said Edwards. “What I found in both
of my programs, because I was older than the cohort that generally went through and
working full time, was that there was kind of a disconnect with a lot of the activities
that were often offered. So being able to talk with someone about how to balance work
life and student life and family life was valuable.”

Kim is a research associate at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, studying successful
aging in Alaska Native people. She is familiar with the benefits of mentorship, having
had several faculty mentors throughout her own graduate and doctoral studies. Moreover,
she understands the importance of having a mentor who is a little more informal and
isn’t necessarily professionally associated with a mentee’s curriculum.

“I had very good experiences with mentors that really changed the ballgame for me.
In general, mentoring can increase well-being, it can be emotional support, and professional
development can be fostered. I had stretches of time where I didn't have mentorship
available to me and I really felt it,” said Kim. “With mentors that are more official
within the faculty, there is for sure that bouncing of ideas, but there’s always that
dynamic of being careful about what you ask and how you ask, and sometimes that leads
to just not asking.” 

In addition to relating in the realms of careers and parenthood, Edwards has found
it especially helpful that they both can speak to the unique challenges of being an
immigrant attending school in the U.S. — Edwards being from New Zealand and Kim being
from Germany. 

“Neither of us grew up in the United States,” said Edwards. “We’re both immigrants
and I think both of us could say it's possible for people who did go through education
systems elsewhere to come to the United States and do well here, so that's a perspective
we share.”

For anyone who is thinking about enrolling in Seawolf Mentor but is on the fence,
the pair suggests giving it a try anyway, if not for the benefit of having an outside
perspective that can relate to what you’re going through, but also as a general way
to support the personal and professional growth of others.

“Mentorship has also been a way of giving back to the community,” said Kim. “I received
so much support and a great education and I wanted to make sure that I contribute
to the other students that are coming through UAA.”

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