On Halloween night, 2003, a young boy named Vincent Ledvina is walking home after a cold midwestern evening of trick-or-treating. He looks up and sees something bright and green shimmering across the sky. “Is that the aurora?” he asks his parents. They aren’t sure. But young Ledvina, having seen the wonders of the upper atmosphere with his own eyes for the first time, is hooked.

Now a second-year Ph.D. student in Space Physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Ledvina studies the aurora borealis. He is working to understand the intricacies of these beautiful—and even life-changing—natural phenomena using both NASA and citizen-sourced data. 

Saturday, September 28th, the MBS Hess Recreation Center transformed into a vibrant dance haven as the Student Activities Office (SAO) and Student Media hosted a Silent Disco Extravaganza. Attendees donned headphones, each tuned to their choice of music, turning the space into a captivating scene of synchronized movement and unrestrained joy.

The celebration of Indigenous People’s Day at UAF kicked off at 9:30 a.m. in the Wood Center Ballroom. Round tables were still being filled up as Teisha Simmons, Interim Dean of the College of Indigenous Studies, officially welcomed everyone. 

“I just want to really take a moment to acknowledge this day for what it is and how much gratitude I have for today. You know, it’s not by easy means that we’re here today. I am remembering my ancestors that have been here for 10,000 years and survived in one of the harshest places in the world,” Simmons said.