The moment we've all been waiting for has finally come! We got a new Director! Her name is Annette Freiburger and she started her new job on March 24th. She not only directs Rural Student Services, but Rural Alaska Honors Institute and Eileen's House as well. She's going to be a pretty busy lady, but we're sure she can handle it!

Annette comes to us from Fairbanks by way of Tanana. She's the daughter of the late Andrew and Effie Kokrine and has been married to Vincent Freiburger for 33 years. They have two sons, Brent and Michael, and to two grandsons, Aydan and Kyen. She received her bachelor's degree in sociology and human services from Fort Lewis College in Colorado and her master's degree in northern studies from UAF.   

She's very involved with the community and has been part of the university for 18 years. Her most recent position was as  the coordinator for the Nenana Center with the Interior-Aleutians Campus. Before that, she worked for the Fairbanks Native Association as the executive director where she was making an impact on Rural Student Services already.

Without Annette, we may not have had the opportunity to have Carol Murphrey on our team! Years ago, when Carol was hired as a temporary office assistant at the Fairbanks Native Association's Early Head Start Program, Annette encouraged her to apply for a job opening at UAF with the Alaska Native Studies Department. Carol attributes her career at UAF, in part, to Annette because without her guidance, leadership, and encouragement, she may never have stepped outside of her comfort zone and applied for that job.  

We'd all like to thank her very much for taking on this new endeavor!   

The fall class list is available for you to see and registration opens up on April 7th (April 14th if you're non-degree seeking)! Classes fill up fast, so schedule an appointment with your advisor soon to go over options for next semester.

The easiest way to set up an appointment is online! Visit www.uaf.edu/ruralss and click on Advising Appointments. From there, you'll click on your advisor's name and follow the prompts! If you're not comfortable using this method, you can always call us at (907) 474-7871 or drop by!