2025-26 Alumni of Distinction honored during annual celebration

The Office of Alumni and Community Engagement and UAA Alumni Association welcomed spring by announcing the 2025-26 Alumni of Distinction . The three distinguished graduates were honored for their contributions in their fields and to their communities at the Alumni of Distinction Celebration on Thursday, March 26, which saw more than 120 attendees pack the Fine Arts Building Recital Hall on the Anchorage campus to reconnect with their hometown university.

Counseling and guidance alumna and Alaska Military Youth Academy section supervisor Deborah Morton received the Alumni of Achievement award, biological sciences alumna and Alaska Supreme Court law clerk Maile Johnston received the Alumni Humanitarian award, and finance and marketing alumnus and Alaska Wealth Advisors marketing strategist Vladislav Finko received the Alumni Emerging Leader award.

In addition to celebrating these notable alumni, property management and real estate alumna Shaylene Nuesca shared her story about the transformative role the UAA Alumni Scholarship played in her educational journey. This testimony came in the final stretch of Giving Day , the annual philanthropic event hosted in partnership with the University of Alaska Foundation, UAF and UAS. This year, more than 2,000 donors came together to raise over $450,000 for UAA students and programs, with over 500 alumni contributing $92,000.

If you missed the chance to support UAA during Giving Day or would like to contribute to student success by making a gift to the UAA Alumni Scholarship, you may do so here .