University Of Alaska Anchorage: Shaping The Student Experience

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

June 15, 2021

 For the last four years, Allie Hartman, student organization coordinator in Student
Life and Leadership, has poured her energy into enhancing the student experience at
UAA. Her efforts in creating connections — especially during a global pandemic — earned
her high praise from both colleagues and students. Most recently, she was recognized
by the University of Alaska Board of Regents with a Staff Make Students Count award.

“I love doing the work that I do because I get to see students grow and make connections
across all their different experiences in and out of the classroom,” said Hartman.
“Ultimately, there's just nothing better than seeing a student graduate and go on
to do amazing things. It's the best feeling in the world.”

Hartman, a Denver, Colorado transplant, moved to Alaska four years ago with her husband.
She began her UAA career providing support to student media organizations The Northern Light and KRUA-FM before landing her current role two years ago. Over the last four years,
she’s seen the university undergo significant changes and knows the challenges students
have been faced with, which is why she is so passionate about creating space for student
voices. 

As a graduate from the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), the sister school
of the flagship campus in Boulder, Hartman understands the university experience of
the commuter student and how important it is for their voices to be heard and needs
to be met. Although thousands of miles separate the two universities, their similarities
are greater than their degree of separation. Both campuses, she said, are located
in the heart of sprawling urban cities with a sizable nontraditional student population.
She feels uniquely qualified to provide outstanding service to UAA students and convey
the importance and value of the commuter student experience to university leadership.

According to Hartman, the past year upped the ante as university staff and faculty
were faced with the challenge of providing students an optimal educational experience
during a global pandemic. It was a challenge she accepted with enthusiasm, which in
the end, paid off in dividends of student engagement and a sense of community within
the student body. 

As a young professional, Hartman said creating virtual spaces through technology and
social media was something she was already excited about. The pandemic ended up being
the perfect catalyst to put her ideas into motion.

“The pandemic created a situation where the campus community wasn't accessible and
kind of illuminated the ways that we weren't accessible to students already as a campus
community,” said Hartman. “Commuter students can't be on campus all the time, and
the pandemic created a movement to carve out a community for students and develop
an online community.”

Hartman enhanced Student Life and Leadership’s social media presence through their
Instagram and Facebook pages uaalife. She found it was a surprisingly helpful tool in not only communicating important
information but also served as a sounding board for students to share their thoughts,
feelings and experiences while navigating a challenging and uncertain school year.

“It was an accessible way for us to put students at the forefront and to let students
share their stories,” said Hartman. “Over the course of a year, we saw some really
great engagement with students, making connections to one another in online spaces.”

In addition to growing Student Life and Leadership’s social media presence and engagement,
Hartman harnessed the power of the student community. She implemented “Takeover Tuesdays,”
where each week a student or students highlight a student club, including club leaders,
student employees, leaders from the fraternity and sorority communities, athletes
and students who identify and represent the diverse cultures at UAA.

Hartman also advocated for student clubs by adjusting club registration requirements
to ensure student clubs met university criteria to operate with less membership. She
also worked to ensure university policy decisions are student-centered, particularly
endeavoring essential changes to student payment and fundraising policies. 

Hartman also championed UAAVotes, a core program run out of Student Life and Leadership,
and created civic engagement opportunities for students and the community through
partnerships with The Alaska Center Education Fund, Native Peoples' Action and the
Campus Election Engagement Project. She also helped facilitate a virtual series with
Seawolf Debate and the Anchorage Daily News regarding ballot measures in Alaska. She also conducted voter training sessions to
prepare students for voting in both the fall presidential and local spring mayoral
elections.

“I’m so honored to have received this award,” said Hartman. She admits it’s been a
hectic year, and at times, working from home, it’s been hard to find work and life
balance, but she is proud of her work with the Student Life and Leadership team over
the past 18 months. She is excited to return to campus this fall and continue working
with the student clubs, fraternities, sororities and commuter students she advocates
for daily. “I think as we return to campus, we all need to listen to what students
are saying and shape the Seawolf experience not only for our current students but
our potential students as well.”

This press release was produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage. The views expressed here are the author’s own.