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Jan. 16, 2024
Welcome, welcome, welcome: A huge welcome to our new students and an equally enormous
welcome back to those returning!Ìý
I hope and trust that you had a wonderful break and 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.
Accompanying this fantastic journey, each day 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!Ìý
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 that you have
signed up for.Ìý
If you do these things, you are in for a great term. If you journeyed with us for
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 12 minutes of daylight and gaining rapidly. By the end of the month, two
fast weeks from now, we’ll gain another hour and a half 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.Ìý
Things to do:Ìý
Pay your bill before Jan. 26. If you aren’t 100 percent 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. 26, you can be dropped from classes and housing, so it
is worth making sure this step is complete.Ìý
Check out the for all kinds of things happening within our community.Ìý
Welcome to the spring 2024 term. I am so proud of you. More importantly, 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.Ìý
— Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management
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