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Jan. 14, 2025
Daylight: 5:05:33
Welcome! Welcome! A huge welcome to our new students and an equally giant welcome
back to those returning!
I hope and trust that you had a wonderful break and that you are starting the journey
of this term from a place of rested wellness. If your break had its challenges with
the holidays, with work, with family, and with travel, you are not alone. For many,
this loosely structured time of year can be very challenging. It is dark, it is cold,
and we place a lot of expectations on ourselves and others to have an especially amazing
time. I hope it was all that and more for you, but whether your break was perfect
or flawed, peaceful or exhausting, today, we embark together on our 16-week journey
of new experiences. It is going to be amazing. You will learn so many new things through
your travels. You will make new friends, you will learn new perspectives, you will
learn about others and about yourself. You will never be the same again. This is the
wonder of learning. As an added bonus, each day of our journey will bring more and
more daylight; it will be a 16-week passage into the light and warmth of spring. Buckle
up – here we go!
As you join your clean slate of courses for the first time this week, now is a good
time to set a workable plan and lock in good habits. Grab a sheet of paper or your
online calendar and map out your weekly schedule. Build in the study time you know
you’ll need to reach your goals. Be honest with yourself. Commit to investing time
in your courses. There are no shortcuts. Get your books, meet your faculty, and open
yourself to new friendships, new information, ideas, and perspectives you have signed
up for.
If you do these things, you are in for a great term. If you joined us for the adventure
of the fall term, reflect on what worked for you and what didn’t. Be your own best
coach. You know it takes resilience and persistence to stick to your plan for success.
You also know how quickly the semester can fly by. The spring term will slide by even
faster.
If you are here in Fairbanks, at any of our rural or community campuses, or anywhere
in Alaska, you’ll be riding the coming weeks up and out of darkness to our summer
world of near-constant daylight. It is a remarkable ride. Today, we are at about five
hours and five minutes of daylight and gaining rapidly. By the end of the month, two
fast weeks from now, we’ll gain almost two more hours and be at six hours and 50 minutes!
I love this time of year. Anticipating and tracking this change is one of my favorite
things to do. If you want to see and learn more, I like . The return of our daylight is a literal ray of sunshine and hope in our daily world.
Things to do:
Pay your bill before Jan. 24. If you aren’t 100% certain everything is paid and complete,
make sure to check in with Financial Aid or the Bursar’s Office. If your bill isn’t
paid by Jan. 24, you can be dropped from classes and housing – so it is worth making sure this step is complete.
Check out the site for all kinds of things happening within our community.
Go downhill skiing or snowboarding. This year we have partnered with Moose Mountain
and Ski Land to offer discounted day passes for both mountains. If you plan to ski
this winter, check out this link for details on how to get a lift ticket for only $10. There are a limited number
of tickets available each day, so plan ahead. This deal is not available at the mountain.
With the great weather, it is a great time to take advantage of this awesome opportunity!
Welcome to the spring 2025 term. I am so proud of you. More importantly, you can be
proud of yourself. You are on the path to a brighter future. The light is coming!
As always, don’t hesitate to send me your comments and suggestions. I am at obguthrie@alaska.edu.
— Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management
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