{"id":3829,"date":"2022-03-03T16:51:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T16:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/boundless\/?p=3829"},"modified":"2023-03-29T16:14:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T16:14:04","slug":"community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/community\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing stories of community at NAU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Students achieve success with the help of the communities they built at NAU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Arizona University has many sources of school pride: our accredited programs, experienced faculty, and enthusiastic alumni, to name a few. Our biggest source of pride, however, is the success of our students. Student support in all its forms\u2014from military veteran student resources to undergraduate research opportunities and beyond\u2014is part of NAU\u2019s goal to unlock achievement and unlimited possibility for our student body at the Flagstaff campus and statewide locations. \u201cLumberjack pride\u201d is pride in our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrating Veterans Day at NAU<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Pete
Pete Yanka<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

November 11 marks an important date for director of Veteran and Military Services<\/a> Pete Yanka<\/a>\u2014it\u2019s Veterans Day<\/a>, an occasion to honor and acknowledge America\u2019s military veterans. \u201cVeterans Day to me personally is a day to say thank you for veterans\u2019 commitment to the greater good in our communities, in the region, and in our nation,\u201d Yanka says. \u201cIt\u2019s a humble way to honor those who have committed to something that we all benefit from.\u201d\u00a0NAU commits to supporting our military-connected students not only for one day but throughout the calendar year. Brandon Hutton, an NAU student and military veteran, says the Veteran Success Center \u201chelped me by giving me guidance about anything in the school as well as getting tutoring sessions. But most importantly, it\u2019s a place where I can relax and have someone to talk to.\u201d Yanka agrees and expands on the ultimate goal of his department: success for each military veteran student at NAU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe serve as a hub. But we\u2019re also able to get them connected with resources, not only within our department, but throughout the entire university, that help them succeed,\u201d Yanka says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communicating school pride<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Headshot
Scott Hanson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Scott Hanson<\/a> is an NAU alumnus who gives back to his alma mater through leadership in NAU\u2019s Public Relations Student Society of America<\/a> (PRSSA) chapter. Graduating in \u201983 with a degree in Telecommunications, Hanson\u2019s early career focused on sports journalism at KNAZ-TV, Ed Moser & Associates, and KPHO-TV. In 1991, Hanson became the president and owner of Ed Moser & Associates (now called HMA Public Relations), the oldest continuously operating public relations agency in Arizona. Hanson recommends the Flagstaff community and NAU connections to prospective students and feels that \u201cbeing associated with so many other successful NAU grads who were classmates creates a sense of pride.\u201d He also encourages students to consider the field of communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe communications industry continues to evolve and grow. Today there are directors of departments overseeing things that didn\u2019t even exist five years ago! Public relations is a truly dynamic field where your expertise in communications and storytelling aligns with business,\u201d Hanson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advancing the future: scientific discovery and a diploma at NAU<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chemistry<\/a> major Zachariah Bess<\/a> built his story of success on the foundations of NAU support systems and a passion for hands-on work in Professor Cindy Browder<\/a>\u2019s research lab. Her encouragement, as well as guidance from NAU advisor Helen Hemmer<\/a>, helped Bess overcome a difficult freshman year. \u201c[Hemmer] cared enough to still be my advisor and wanted to make sure that I was able to graduate and finish what I started,\u201d Bess says. \u201cShe also made sure that when I got here, I had everything in order. She impacted my life, more than anybody, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zachariah
Zachariah Bess<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over a period of two years in Browder\u2019s lab, Bess pursued two separate projects, one of which involved creating an antifungal solution using amino acids. \u201cBasically, it\u2019s like an antibiotic but for fungi, specifically fungus that grows on plants,\u201d Bess says. \u201cSo, I\u2019ve been working on making an antifungal solution that you can spray on plants and break down the fungus without harming the plant.\u201d Bess continues, saying that \u201cthe second project is still using the same medium as we did with the antifungal solution\u2014ionic liquids prepared from amino acids\u2014but this time we\u2019re using the ionic liquids to make solid electrolytes.\u201d For his work on solid electrolytes, Bess won an Urdea Undergraduate Research Award.<\/a> Following his success at NAU and recent graduation, Bess plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree and, ultimately, a PhD in organic chemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking for the students: an ABOR student regent represents her peers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Rachel
Rachel Kanyur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rachel Kanyur<\/a>, an Exercise Science<\/a> major at NAU, became an Arizona Board of Regents<\/a> (ABOR) student regent in July 2021. Her objective is to represent her peers and make sure their voices are heard. \u201cMy main goal is to make\u00a0sure that students have support on campus. That they\u2019re able to have the tools that they need to enroll in college if they want to pursue that. That they have support on campus, so then they\u2019re able to finish those degrees, go back in their communities, and contribute in whatever ways their career allows them to,\u201d\u00a0Kanyur\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Kanyur\u2019s drive, NAU has been instrumental in encouraging \u201coutside-the-classroom\u201d experiences through our commitment to experiential learning. In conjunction with Robyn Martin<\/a>, a senior lecturer in NAU\u2019s Honors College<\/a>, Kanyur previously completed a freshman research project focused on food security issues on college campuses. \u201cThat, I think, was the moment that I realized that I wanted to make sure that students had resources and felt supported, because the data that I found was shocking,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Kanyur puts it: \u201cIf you told me as a freshman that my research paper was going to be something that I\u2019d actually be able to make a difference for students with, I wouldn\u2019t have believed you. But [Martin] giving me that confidence and advice of, \u2018You\u2019re actually able to make a difference with this,\u2019 really encouraged me to learn more and take the opportunities that would allow me to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing opportunity through a new lens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Claire
Claire Sipos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Claire Sipos<\/a>, a Photography<\/a> alumna who graduated in 2020, wants to put things in perspective\u2014in her photos as well as her life experiences. During a class trip to the Grand Canyon while still a student, she used her photographic eye to capture the human impact of tourism and the Glen Canyon Dam. \u201cIt\u2019s not just taking pretty pictures for the sake of pretty pictures, but it\u2019s, what are you trying to say? The species that typically live there are dying off and going extinct,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s an undeniable feeling that comes with being outside. Creating art in nature takes it another step further. You\u2019re connected to something greater. There\u2019s a lot to be gained that you can\u2019t get looking at that photo or learning about a place. It hits differently when you\u2019re actually spending time in that area\u2014engaging with it,\u201d Sipos explains. Following graduation, and with her NAU experiences to guide her, Sipos started Suppose Studios<\/a>, offering graphic design and photography services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sipos offers advice to other NAU students: \u201cSeek out opportunities. There are a plethora of opportunities through NAU that will completely transform your college experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students achieve success with the help of the communities they built at NAU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":570,"featured_media":3828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,5,3,2],"tags":[253,144,242,260,70,34,259,258,251,252,248,243,246,257,247,181,249,179,255,254,180,250,244,245,256],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/570"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3829"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5663,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3829\/revisions\/5663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}