91ÊÓƵ

Carissa is from upstate New York, just outside the Adirondack Mountains. Here at UAF she does research in the Veterinary Medicine department. Outside the lab, she is an avid birder and serves on the board of the Arctic Audubon Society as well. In her free time, Carissa enjoys geocaching, slack lining, and climbing, always seeking new adventures in the great outdoors.

David is a student studying the structural engineering branch of Civil Engineering, with a focus on Seismology. His Master’s Project is a seismic analysis of the Engineering building at UAF. This entails finding the natural frequencies of a building using earthquake events and comparing them to natural frequencies based on building design. According to current progress of students, he should be the first student to graduate from UAF in the Civil Engineering BS/MS Program. His current passion is Chi Alpha, and mission trips, as he has been a part of it since 2019, and held a leadership position since 2022. He seeks to first and foremost use his degree to eventually be a missionary engineer, and secondly be a structural engineer in 91ÊÓƵ.

Dishi is a PhD student in Atmospheric Science at the University of 91ÊÓƵ Fairbanks, specializing in boundary layer meteorology. Her research centers on the buildup and breakup of the surface-based inversion layer, a critical phenomenon influencing air quality and climate conditions, particularly in polar and sub-Arctic environments. Through her work, she aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of atmospheric processes near the surface and their broader environmental impacts.

Jamie will graduate in May. She resides outside Charleston, West Virginia, where she is a volunteer firefighter with Hurricane Fire & Rescue.  She has presented the topic "Are We Producing Quality First Responders? Or Just Checking the Boxes?" with her mentor at several regional fire and hazmat conferences. Jamie is the Delta Zeta Sorority chapter advisor at Marshall University. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Ohio State University where she marched in the band. She has two yellow labs: Scarlet and Gray.

Kacy Lou Leyba has been in the education field since 2009 and is currently pursuing her Doctorate through UAF's Indigenous Studies program. Her research focuses on increasing economic sustainability in Dena'ina EÅ‚nena and Yup'ik Ancestral Lands in the Lake Iliamna region through culturally relevant education and mental healthcare. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary English Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver, then went on to earn her Masters of Education in Student Services from Liberty University and a Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from University of 91ÊÓƵ - Anchorage. Her passion is the intersection of adventure, education, and healing; she currently has her dream job as the Lake and Peninsula School District Itinerant Student Services Coordinator. She is also the proud mother of three adorable kiddos and two dogs. You can find her out on her homestead, hiking the trails of Lake Clark, or flying with friends on the weekends and during the summer.

Kevin Huo is a graduate student studying in the Arctic and Northern Studies Master's program with a focus on climate policy in the Far North. Kevin first arrived at UAF in 2017 from the San Francisco Bay Area fascinated and intrigued by the Arctic from a journey in high school to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. There Kevin experienced and found a profound passion for the North with a sincere interest in community-building, international studies, and the environment. At that time Kevin began his undergraduate degree majoring in Political Science and Anthropology and 2021 completed his degree. In 2021, Kevin served at the 91ÊÓƵ Center ICE as the Innovation Fellow for the year followed by a return to schooling in his current program. Amidst studying, learning, and living Kevin has also served as the General Manager of KSUA radio and most recently stepped into the Student Media Coordinator position running the offices of KSUA radio, Sun Star newspaper, and the Concert Board. Outside of the classroom and work, Kevin is passionate about volleyball, films, and music. Kevin looks forward to serving on GSSAB. 

Su is currently a first-year master's student in Fisheries under Dr. Jessica Glass's lab. Her research focuses on developing a passive filtration environmental DNA device to study the detection of invasive European Green Crabs. As a graduate student representative, she hopes she can support other students in finding avenues for community and advocate the needs of my peers to the university. In her free time, she enjoys making art and playing PC games.

Yuqing Wang is a Ph.D. student at the University of 91ÊÓƵ Fairbanks, focusing on sustainable tourism within the Natural Resources and Environment program. Her research centers on enhancing the well-being of rural coastal communities in the Arctic, with a strong commitment to effective, equitable community engagement. She also advocates for sustainable development and environmentally conscious practices in Arctic research and beyond.