The Denton family cares a great deal about the University of Alaska. The ninth graduate from this family will receive a degree this spring, rounding out the third generation of UA graduates. Pedro and Helen support UAF because they believe in the quality education and the support that students receive.
Pedro graduated from UAF with a B.S. in mining engineering in 1956. While working toward his degree, Pedro’s wife, Helen, worked at the UAF Registrar's Office and earned what her co-workers laughingly referred to as her PHT (Putting Hubby Through). Pedro has held many different positions in the mining industry in Alaska and at one point worked as the director of the state Division of Mining. He also spent five years with the Bureau of Land Management in Fairbanks inspecting mining claims and mineral lands in Interior Alaska. Upon retiring from the mining field, Helen and Pedro bought a commercial fishing boat and fished the Gulf of Alaska from Cook Inlet to Dixon Entrance. During this time Pedro answered questions for many visitors and eventually decided to write a book about fishing in Alaska. Pedro became an accomplished landscape painter and included copies of his paintings in a book titled Boats of Alaska: An Artist’s Guide to Alaska’s Commercial Fishing Boats, which was published and printed in 1998.
Amy Tidwell
Amy Tidwell was a non-traditional UAF student. She earned her General Equivalency Diploma (GED) after her junior year of high school, got married and moved to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. She took a couple of classes over the phone through the UAF Interior-Aleutians Campus and eventually moved to Fairbanks in 1997 to study civil engineering. While attending UAF, Amy received more than 11 privately funded scholarships including the Paul C. Hunter Engineering Scholarship, the Ralph R. Migliaccio Memorial Scholarship and the Austin E. Lathrop Scholarship, as well as UAF Honors Program scholarships. Upon her graduation with honors in 2001, Amy received an $85,500 National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship.
Now, as a UA presidential International Polar Year postdoctoral fellow, Amy is researching arctic water resources at the UAF Institute of Northern Engineering. Her research is providing information to agencies and businesses that are managing Alaska's land and resources in a changing climate. From rural access to subsistence resources to changing permafrost depths and water distribution, Amy's research provides the information needed to make the best decisions for Alaska.
Vanessa Cox
Vanessa Cox is a senior working towards her BS in Music Education (K-12) at UAF. She is the recipient of numerous privately funded scholarships including the Pearl Berry Boyd Music Scholarship - 3 years running, the Fred Beeler Memorial Scholarship, the William and Dorothy Jane Wood Talent Grant, and the Theresa Jimenez Memorial Scholarship. She has been named to the Chancellor's or Dean's List seven of her eight semesters at UAF. In addition to being an excellent student Vanessa is a military spouse and mother of five; Brittney - 14, Morgan - 11, Rodney II - 10, and twin sons Brandon and Bryan - 8.
