The Student VoiceThe Student Voice

Making the Transition by Berntina Sankwich

Student Government Politics Like Alaska US Senate Race

Kuskokwim Campus UAF, Student Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 1 October 22, 2010

Announcements

Saturday Market,

10/23 & 11/20 10am-

3pm, YPCC

Haunted House, Sack-

ett Hall Oct 29 & 30

Last day to withdraw

from courses Nov 5

Thanksgiving Holiday,

Nov 25-28

Annual BCA Christmas

Bazaar, YPCC, Nov 27

Writing Tutor Available

Miriam Ohman

Tuesdays and Thursdays

7-9 PM LAC

mlohman@alaska.edu

Who said, “All politics are

local.”? You can’t get any

more local than our own KuC

election for Student Govern-

ment leaders. The team of

Pauline Boratko and Crystal

Hoffman decided to launch a

write-in campaign for Presi-

dent and Vice President. Were

there hanging chads, mis-

spelled names, or unfilled

ovals? After waging a vigorous

last-minute campaign, the

team of Boratko and Hoffman

were defeated, but they did

receive 33% and 30%, respec-

tively, of the votes cast. What

an exciting election.

Congratulations to KuC’s

newly elected Student Gov-

ernment officials:

President: Derek Evon

Vice President: Dara Friday

Secretary: Kerissa Brady

Treasurer: Henry Combs Members: On Campus: Ryan Abraham Off Campus: Chelsea Smith At Large: Alden Boyscout

The transition from high school to college is over-whelming and stressful. Fresh-man college students are more apt to get homesick than re-turning students. New college students are easily distracted by socializing, peer pressure, or procrastinating. Freshmen have horrible time manage-

ment skills, making it harder to complete homework assign-ments at their best.

As a freshman, seeing the students who live in the dorms leaving to go home for week-ends is difficult for me because I cannot go home. Home is in the State of Washington; that’s

where I’m from. Since they don’t have any classes on Fri-days, my roommate and suitemates go back to their home villages on Thursday nights and come back Sunday eve-nings. They get to spend time with their families, but I can-not. Being away from home for a long time is hard for me.

With bad time manage-ment skills, freshmen have difficulty doing and turning in their homework on time. I know high school students have poor time management skills as well, but in college there are more consequences to face. The way I perceive it, college is proactive and high school is passive. Students must change and adapt in or-der to succeed in college.

Students

Starting Spring 2011, books

will NOT automatically be

sent by the CRCD book-

store when you register.

Order books at

www.crcd.uaf.rural.bkstr.com

or the site of your

choice.

My name is Mercedes L. Paniinguar Moses, and this is my first semester here at Kuskokwim Campus as a freshman. Instead of one set of parents, I have two, my birthparents and my adoptive parents. My birthparents are Myra Moses and Mar-cos Vogelpohl. Myra is from Mountain Village, Alaska, and Marcos is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Rachel Jenkins and Justin Sparango adopted me when I was about five. On my birth mother’s side of

the family, I am half Yup’ik Eskimo; my father’s ancestry is extremely mixed, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Polish, Samoan, and Indian. I am originally from the small rural community of Nunapitchuk, Alaska, lo-cated on the banks of the Johnson River. My village is approximately thirty miles from Bethel and consists of about five hundred people, and growing rapidly. This last May, I graduated from Anna Tobeluk Memorial High School and I am now working on becoming a registered nurse. When I started college, I was not aware of what to expect or what I had gotten myself into. I am proud, though, to be the first one in my family to graduate from high school on time, the youngest graduate this year in Nunapitchuk, and the valedictorian. While attending college, I know there will be times when we experience feelings of being homesick, alone and sad for some reason or the other. We might be having a hard time with personal issues, college, or other problems that come and go in our lives. However, we must take a

moment to realize that we are not alone, for we have a vast diversity of people around us, our peers, family, and the faculty, on and off the college campus. These people can be your help and sup-port, people whom you can turn to for guidance in times of need. If you do not feel comfortable talking to your friends or family, acknowledge the fact that there are two social workers at KUC who would be delighted to have a discussion with you. They are our su-perb social workers, Jennifer Peeks and Diane McEachern. Then again, if you do not want to do that, you can enjoy healthy activities. Each one of us has our own way of dealing with or manag-ing stress; our lives are not perfect. When certain events cause me to feel stressed, I try to handle the stress by being optimistic. I do different things, and, as I hint in the poem below, I cope with stress by going walking alone and expressing my feelings by writing.

Help and Support by Mercedes L. Moses

A Walk to Remember by Mercedes L. Moses

Page 2 The Student Voice Volume 2, Issue 1 October 22, 2010

I walk upon an abandoned road I can recall and wish to find some meaning to my memories this fall.

This barren road is lit with unblemished snow, which is shimmering with an endless white glow.

The enchanting moon lights the snow-covered road with a luminescent light, and the wind gently whispers into the night

I feel the chilling cold of the night wind blow into my face; I don’t know where it came from, not a trace.

There is not a person or creature in sight ahead, and still I meander lonely instead.

As I stroll surrounded by the continuous vivid night, I hear the crunch of snow below my wondering feet grow.

While walking, my memories from a heartbreaking past come and go, from a time I felt so low.

I weep and the creatures of the night will never hear. A single drop falls, it is just a tear.

The warm tear rolls down my ruby red cheeks to my chin, but I stand tall and will not let my feelings win.

I pause in the middle of the road and notice the bountiful heavens above; I search for the stars I truly love.

Gazing at the beauteous heavens, I gaze upon the twinkling stars, finding it is my escape.

It takes me beyond reality and gives me a feeling of immortality.

There I stand, with my head high, looking up at the dazzling sky.

The rugged memories fade into a world of gray and that is where they will forever stay.

That night I learned how to forget those awful memories and travel into my own thoughts, hidden from what every-one sees.

Preparing for College by Alden Boyscout

Page 3 The Student Voice

When you prepare for college, the first step you do is fill out the Free Application for Federal Stu-dent Aid, also known as FAFSA. After you fill that out, it you will be notified about which federal loans and grants you are eligible for. Then your second step is to ap-ply to a university or college; once you get accepted, you will receive an official letter of acceptance from your college or university. If you are eligible for a Pell grant, that money

will automatically go to your chosen college once you register for classes. Work on other scholarship appli-cations and apply for as many as you can; the more you apply for, the more money you may receive. Make sure to apply for local ones like AVCP, Calista, AVEC, and Uni-com, as well as contacting the vil-lage you are from. Most scholarship applications require a one to two page essay; ask someone to proof-

read your essay before you send it in. After you get your award letters, immediately fax them to your advi-sor or to the financial aid person at your school to let them know how much money you have been awarded. Last but not least, make sure you have all the supplies you need, such as three to four note-books, a file holder, pencils and pens, and highlighters – college is not like high school.

KUC is a very good campus. I like it here and I am glad that I chose to come. Yes, there are times when I wish it were somewhere else, but when I really think about where I wanted to go to college, KuC was the best choice for me. KuC is close to home. I am just a 45 minute plane ride away. If I went to UAF at Fairbanks, I would waste a lot of time at airports in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and St. Mary’s. But here in Bethel I just go to the airport, wait about 45 minutes, get on the plane and go home. The cost is not that expensive either. At KuC I can go home on weekends, but if I were anywhere else, I would have to wait for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christ-mas, and summer break. The second reason why I like it here is because the class sizes are small. Having smaller classes is good be-cause I have more confidence to ask questions; I can get help to better understand the material. I have heard of

Welcome ESP Students Fall 2010

Volume 2, Issue 1 October 22, 2010

Fall

2010

Hat

Day

KuC- a Great Place to Be by Hazel Andrews

Continued on page 4

We Come in Pairs by Arlene Tulik

Contribute to the newsletter!

This newsletter is by students, for students, and everyone is welcome to participate or contribute any ideas or articles. ~

Contact Cindy Andrecheck on First Class for details.

Page 4 The Student Voice

College of

Rural and

Community

Deveopment University of Alaska

Fairbanks

UAF is an affirmative

action/equal opportunity

employer and educational

institution

We’re on the web at

www.bethel.uaf.edu

Morning is here and my eyes still won’t close. The deep roar of my name still echoes in my head. I can feel a cold whis-per say to me, “ This isn’t the first, there will be more days like this. Until then, I’ll see you.”

I find myself standing alone in the forest. How did I get here? The sun is just rising from the horizon. I feel chills run down my spine. I feel as if someone has been taken away from me. I want to cry, but I would feel silly if I didn’t know what I was crying about.

Without realizing it, I made it to the road. A few cars passed by; I didn’t bother to ask for directions. I just kept walking. One of the cars stopped to ask if they could give me a ride. I didn’t look at the lady driver; I couldn’t see or hear anything. She honked her car horn to grab my atten-tion - it worked. She asked me again if I wanted a ride, and I climbed into the car without a word. The car was a red Mus-tang. The girl driving it looked to be in her mid-twenties.

We already passed a town,

and she still hasn’t asked me where I live. Not one word has she said to me. I start examin-ing her, feeling paranoid now. I’m looking at her out of the corner of my eye. She is a bru-nette, innocent looking. Her hair comes to her lower shoul-ders. She has clear smooth skin, shimmering in the sunlight. Her eyes are beautiful, almost caramel brown. Lips not too small and narrow. Who is she? Do I know her?

To be continued next time

Kuskokwim Campus

PO Box 368

201 Akiak Dr

Bethel, AK 99559

Phone: 1-800-478-5822

907-543-4500

Fax: 907-543-4527

Volume 2, Issue 1 October 22, 2010

I would do without all this help; I think I would be lost and maybe give up on furthering my edu-cation if I had gone to a big university. KUC was the right choice for me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The classes and instructors are great. I’m close to home, there aren’t many distractions, the environment is safe, and everyone is very supportive and encouraging. I would rec-ommend KUC to high school seniors who are undecided about college. I wouldn’t want to change anything about KUC at all.

Continued from page 3 many students who went to big universities and didn’t get much time with their instructor when they needed help. Here at KUC you aren’t just another face in the class; you are able to get to know your instructor personally. Lastly, I like it here is because the environ-ment at KUC is friendly and safe; KuC feels like home. The staff and faculty here support me and my decisions. They are helping me to reach my goal of getting my associate degree in business management. My peers also support and encourage me to do my best, while giving me advice and helping hands along the way. I do not know what I would do without all this help; I think I would have been lost and maybe given up on furthering my education if I had gone to a big university. KUC was the right choice for me. I would-n’t have it any other way. The classes and in-structors are great. I’m close to home, there aren’t many distractions, the environment is safe, and everyone is very supportive and en-couraging. I would recommend KUC to high school seniors who are undecided about col-lege. I wouldn’t want to change anything about KUC at all.