Mark Young with a lingcod.
SFOS Newsletter
Fall 2009
Featured Student
Mark Young, Bachelor of Arts in Fisheries
by Katie Murra Straub, Recruitment & Retention Coordinator
What first brought you to Alaska?The Army brought my family and me to Alaska. My involvement with UAF started almost immediately upon my arrival, both as a student and an adjunct instructor in the music department. When I agreed to come to Alaska I was in mylast semester of grad school at Auburn University as a percussion performance major and I only needed two elective courses to complete my degree. I was able to take those courses at UAF and I was asked if I would teach a couple of percussion courses at UAF.
Tell me a little more about your educational background.
I received my Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance in 1991 from Henderson State University. If you think being a broke college graduate is bad, add a degree in music performance to the mix! What was an undergrad musician to do? Join the Army, of course! It was while I was in the Army that I was offered the opportunity to earn my master's degree in music. My focus in grad school was on Guatemalan marimba and Indonesian gamelan. When my wife and I decided to stay in Alaska I knew that I would have to either go back to school for a teaching credential or do something completely different.
How did you decide to pursue a B.A. in Fisheries?
I was flying from Kodiak back to Fairbanks when I saw an article in a magazine about the B.A. in Fisheries. I knew I had to check it out. I am a Coast Guard accredited mariner, an AMSEA certified drill conductor, licensed Alaska Saltwater Guide and Charter operator and I serve as a trainer for marine oil spill response training. The program just seemed to fit my interests and background.
What do you look forward to in your fisheries education?
I really like the diverse faculty and the way SFOS connects students and faculty together in a manner that is geared toward common interests. Katie Murra Straub did a fantastic job at looking at my background and matching me with an awesome advisor, Courtney Carothers. Carothers' background in commercial fisheries, community development and the human dimension of fisheries is a great match.
How do you feel your fisheries education will benefit you?
It has already benefited me. Andrew Seitz's "Fishes of Alaska" course has given me a great appreciation and respect for all of the fish that come aboard, including those pesky spiny dogfish. John Kelley's "The Oceans" class has opened my eyes to the role of the ocean in the Earth system.
What do you like about Alaska?
My family and I have lived in Alaska for almost 15 years and we cannot imagine living anywhere else. I enjoy all of the incredible resources Alaska has to offer, not only the natural resources, but the great cultural resources as well. I have performed with the Fairbanks Symphony and through the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival I studied with principal players from the Boston Pops and performed with artists from the recording studios of Hollywood and Broadway. My point is this is an amazing place to live and study– no matter what your interests are.
I really enjoy SFOS, because it is "experiential." The way the School has developed their programs so that the curriculum has integrated classroom learning and "real world" opportunities is fantastic. In a lot of ways it reminds me of when I was an undergrad in music. There is so much energy throughout SFOS.
What is your favorite thing about UAF?
For a university that is not that large, I am amazed at the breadth and depth of the programs. UAF has it all. What do you hope to do in the future? I would really like to work for Sea Grant, specifically, the Marine Advisory Program as a marine advisory agent. When I was the director of training at Prince William Sound Community College, I had the privilege of interfacing with two members of the Marine Advisory Program, Don Kramer and Torie Baker. Both were absolutely fascinating to talk to about their individual specialties.
MAP is appealing to me because I would like to work with rural communities in the areas of seafood quality, marketing, business planning, education and marine safety. I have worked with commercial fishermen throughout Prince William Sound, Kodiak, Seward and Homer for the last several years training them in oil spill response. Working in and around fish and the people who make it a living would be an awesome job.
I am very excited about being an SFOS student and pursuing the B.A. fisheries degree. In the short amount of time I have been involved with SFOS, I can tell there is a lot of energy from the students, staff and faculty. I am proud to be a part of that.
Learn more about the undergraduate fisheries program at www.uaf.edu/fish.
Click on the image to download the Fall 2009 newsletter (5.6 MB PDF).
Greetings from the Dean
This will be an exciting year for
the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. After adding seven new faculty members last year, five new faculty
will join us this semester and two more after the first of the year. We also begin this semester with more graduate students and the largest incoming class of fisheries undergraduates (20) in our history.
New findings show increased
ocean acidification in Alaska
The same things that make Alaska's marine waters among the
most productive in the world may also make them the most vulnerable to ocean acidification.
According to new findings by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist, Alaska's oceans
are becoming increasingly acidic, which could damage Alaska's king crab and salmon fisheries.
Christie takes over Alaska Sea Grant
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has appointed David Christie as the director of the Alaska Sea Grant College Program.
Bristol Bay region welcomes local as new Marine
Advisory Program agent
Bristol Bay, home to Alaska's largest wild commercial salmon fishery, once again has an Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory
Program agent to help fishermen, seafood processors and marketers, and other marine resource users.
Spotlight: Richard H. Carlson Scholarship
Scholarships are increasingly important as our current economy encourages more people to attend and return
to higher education. In times like these, scholarships are vital because for many students scholarships are the
difference between taking two classes or four, filling up their gas tank or buying books, and
they provide stability in otherwise uncertain times.
Mathis didn't graduate with his bachelor's degree saying "I want to be an oceanographer," but he did say "I want an adventure."
Featured faculty
Jeremy Mathis, Asst. Prof. of Oceanography
Jeremy Mathis never expected to be an oceanographer in Alaska, and he certainly
never expected to be a voice for the effects of climate change on Alaska waters.
Atkinson takes the helm at the Fisheries Division
Shannon Atkinson is the new interim director of the UAF Fisheries Division, headquartered in Juneau.
Atkinson took the helm from Bill Smoker, after he retired this summer.
Standouts - Faculty and Staff News
AOOS launches Prince William Sound Field Experiment
This summer, the Alaska Ocean Observing System conducted high-tech, high-speed field experiments in Prince William Sound
to collect data and evaluate models that predict wind, waves, ocean circulation, and oil spill trajectories.
More
"I grew up hearing about Alaska from my parents and neighbors and later in college from friends who worked on fishing boats. The stories fed my imagination and much of what I imagined I found to be true."
Featured Staff
Deborah Mercy, Program Development Media Specialist
Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
In 1976 I visited Anchorage during the spring break of my final year at the University of Washington. After graduation, that
same year, I got a job on a Southeast Alaska salmon purse seine fishing boat. We were based out of Craig on Prince of Wales
Island.
PROJECT Spotlight
Surveying the giant Pacific octopus
by Tara Borland, Proposal Coordinator
In a partnership with the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, SFOS Marine Advisory Program agent, Reid Brewer, is working
on a project studying the ecology of the giant Pacific octopus.
"the curriculum has integrated classroom learning and 'real world' opportunities"
Featured Student
Mark Young, Bachelor of Arts in Fisheries
The Army brought my family and me to Alaska. My involvement with UAF started almost immediately upon my
arrival, both as a student and an adjunct instructor in the music department.
Welcome Aboard
by Madeline Scholl, Academic Programs Assistant
As we usher in a new academic year I would like to welcome and introduce our new graduate students joining the SFOS
community this fall. The 19 graduate students joining SFOS this September...
Undergraduate enrollment up at SFOS
SFOS has more undergraduate students than ever before, with 51 total undergraduate fisheries students enrolled this fall.
Standouts - Student News
Congratulations to our Spring 2009 graduates!
Congratulations to our Summer 2009 graduates!
Other Student News
Featured Alumna
Joan Braddock, Ph.D. Oceanography, 1989
SFOS alumnus honored by President Obama
President Obama recently awarded SFOS alumnus Dana Hanselman the 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Featured photo
Photo by Pam Goddard
Uinniq Ahgeak (second from left), a B.S. fisheries major, helps sort rockfish with the scientific crew on board
the F/V Vesteraalen as part of her summer internship with the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
