Each student will receive a tuition credit award and will be honored at the UAF student award breakfast April 28.
Erik Soederstroem, 25, grew up in Ostersund, Sweden, and came to UAF on a cross-country skiing scholarship. Climate change studies are what attracted him to Fairbanks, and throughout his time here the crucial thing he has learned is the importance of geography. His English has also improved tremendously. “Now it feels natural,” he said.
After he graduates in May with a bachelor of science in geography, Soederstroem plans to return to Sweden and ski professionally for a year while he decides where to begin his graduate studies. “Geography is such a broad field,” he said. “It opens a lot of paths.”
Soederstroem enjoys traveling and playing the guitar.
Kelsey Gobroski, 22, hails from Anchorage. After graduating from high school as a UA Scholar, she searched for a program that would fit her needs close to home. At first she was interested in landscape architecture but then she fell in love with plant science.
Gobroski minored in journalism and Russian. Her high latitude agriculture studies have emphasized the importance of inter-disciplinary teamwork. “I gained knowledge about a lot of topics so I know who to go to when there is a problem I don’t understand,” she said.
As a student, Gobroski worked as a Sun-Star reporter, and with the OneTree program, the IAB Geobotany Center, the UA Museum of the North Herbarium and the Forest Soils Lab.
She intends to become a science journalist. “I want to help the general public understand that it’s important to know about the ecosystem they live in ,” she said. “I enjoy discovery so much.”
Her goal is to become a better storyteller so people can relate to scientific concepts. Her college years have taught her the importance of seeing difficult projects through to the end.
Gobroski has traveled to Russia five times on humanitarian missions. She enjoys hiking, drawing and writing for her blog.
Ryan Jess, 27, grew up in several states across the U.S., moving every few years due to his father’s job. He attended three different high schools and graduated in Florida in 2003. He considers Utah and Montana home.Jess was studying at Brigham Young University when he came to Alaska for a summer job. After meeting his future wife, Sara, he transferred to UAF where he found SNRAS the perfect fit. “UAF is a much smaller school, much more personal and had every quality I was looking for in a university,” he said.
The most important thing he learned is how to learn, he said. “Aside from any specific information, the thing I value learning the most is the ability to think critically and analyze issues objectively.”
His goals are to find a career with a state or federal agency, settle down and start a family. Down the road he would like to pursue a master’s degree in natural resources management.
In his spare time Jess enjoys spending time with Sara, hunting, fishing, traveling and visiting family and friends.
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