I'm Hannah Foss, an Australian-Alaskan Animator!

I am a senior BFA (Computer Arts) student at UAF, as well as a paleontological artist and archivist.
As a palaeontological artist, I have had the amazing opportunity to create illustrations and diagrams for our resident paleontologist, Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller, as well as create anatomically accurate marine reptile models for permanent display at the UA Museum of the North.

Animation has been a mainstay passion of mine from the age of fourteen, and continues to inspire and drive me to become the best animator/artist I can be.
My dream job would be animating at a large studio, such as Pixar, Disney or Dreamworks.
I was recently accepted into Animation Mentor; an 18-month intensive online program designed to ready college students for an animation studio environment.
All mentors within the course are current animators at big studios around the world, which allows students to learn first-hand what studios and film companies are looking for in their animators.

I plan to graduate in May 2013.

Check out my work!

• Animations
• 3D Models

I’m Jenni Paniati, an honors student studying mechanical engineering at UAF, and I’m also a flight instructor at Fairbanks International Airport.
My father, a helicopter and fixed-wing pilot in New York, exposed me to aviation growing up, and I finally got my chance to learn while I was a student at Boston University studying math education. I took flight lessons in Beverly, MA where I received my private pilot certificate and then the summer after graduation I received my instrument rating and commercial certificate. At the end of the summer I packed my bags and left Boston to try out life in Alaska.
I spent a week in Anchorage taking a crash course in adult life-I bought a car, got a job, and found an apartment in Palmer. I worked on my certified flight instructor certificate at Merrill Field but had to leave for training for the Army Reserve before I finished. When I came back to Alaska I moved to the bush to be a high school math and science teacher, and I spent plenty of time as a passenger but I doubt Era would’ve let me borrow their planes for my own personal use. In 2012 I married my husband, an active duty officer at Ft. Wainwright, who brought me here to North Pole, and I again had access to planes. I finally finished my training, became a certified flight instructor, and starting working at Proflite of Alaska.
I no longer teach high school but I’m still a teacher at heart-I plan to keep instructing flight students and eventually use my UAF education to work in aerospace engineering and bring STEM to K-12 students.

I am a BFA art student with a focus on painting and printmaking.  The grouping element behind my work is language and how it interacts visually on canvas other surfaces. 

The majority of my pieces stem from reactions to literature, like The Yellow Room which is a response to Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.  Other pieces, like my figure drawing and the portrait, are exercises to help hone my techniques. 

My thesis show, which is a culmination of all my work focusing upon language, will be in the Fall of 2013.

Explanations/Title info:

•  Word Monsters, 2011, mixed media on masonite, 30"x30".
•  20 Minute Figure, 2009, charcoal on paper, 17"x24".
•  Self Portait, 2011, acrylic on masonite, 28"x30".
•  The Yellow Room, acrylic on canvas, 18"x26".

I am a senior in the Honors Program at UAF; my major is Sociology with a minor in Psychology. I have been a student at UAF since 2008, though I have only attended full-time since Spring 2011, but have been an active volunteer in the Fairbanks community since 2003. I am a disabled veteran, having been sent home for medical reasons in 1982.

Please click here to learn more about my life and service activities.

My name is Kristen Whelchel and currently I am a sophomore within the Honors Program looking to major in one of the social sciences. One of my particular passions is taking advantage of the many opportunities for community outreach available within the Interior, specifically regarding youth. For the past three summers, I have volunteered at various camps as kitchen staff, a counselor, or as an activities director for a week at Bingle Camp located on Harding Lake. 

Beyond the obvious amount of meetings and extensive planning, the true joy of working at summer camps comes primarily through the sacrifice of time, forgoing the many obligations which can be so pressing during the academic calendar to simply be available to volunteer and have a little fun. I have found it is often the gift of time rather than extensive previous knowledge which has allowed me to really reach my community in meaningful ways while making priceless memories in the process. Undoubtedly, the true reward of these experiences comes by putting everything aside, listening to the concerns of youth, being willing to laugh at the ridiculous, and building relationships with real, lively, dynamic teens along the way. 

The leadership rolls I was asked to undertake were often times intimidating, yet embracing new challenges functions as the soil for growth. Separated from the buzz and tick of daily life, surrounded only by the splendor of Alaskan beauty, and building relationships with youth through community outreach by learning to take on new challenges, has truly proved to be the most valuable summer adventure I could have ever possibly imagined.