UAF names 2022 student award recipients

The ��ķ��Ƶ will honor Logan Nave and Tricia Minnick on April 29 as its outstanding undergraduate degree recipients for 2022.

Nave will receive the Joel Wiegert Award, which recognizes an outstanding associate degree candidate. Minnick will receive the Marion Frances Boswell Memorial Award, which recognizes an outstanding bachelor’s degree candidate.

Nave is earning an associate of applied science degree from UAF’s Community and Technical College. He credits the program for teaching the skills he needed to launch his own clothing brand, Poet’s Cloth. The business has donated to nonprofit organizations, such as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and Camp Li-Wa, and has launched a campaign to support victims of the war in Ukraine. A summer concert event organized through Poet’s Cloth will be a fundraiser for the Fairbanks Rescue Mission.

“From our first conversation, he wanted to create a business that was much more than just a product,” wrote Mark Young, the applied business and accounting program coordinator, in a nomination letter. “He wanted one that had a strong brand identity that gave back to the community.”

Nave plans to return to his home state of Tennessee this fall to expand Poet’s Cloth, with hopes to move the brand beyond clothing to include music, arts, media and concerts.

Minnick is earning a bachelor’s degree in social work. She had a 12-year gap in her education pursuits while she raised a family. After enrolling at UAF, she earned a 4.0 GPA while juggling a hectic online class schedule and caring for her children. She is finishing her practicum at Denali Daniels and Associates in Anchorage, researching issues that include prevention of child abuse, homelessness and child welfare worker retention.

Minnick was also a compassionate leader among her student peers, UAF Department of Social Work Chair LaVerne Demientieff stated in her nomination letter.

“Tricia is a dedicated and determined student balancing work and family, and she shares openly her own struggles and how she uses them to grow and improve,” she wrote.

Minnick, who grew up in Texas, plans to pursue her master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, working with caregivers of older adults. After graduate school she expects to return to Alaska to work in program development and policy.

Nave and Minnick will be among those honored at UAF’s 2022 honoree recognition ceremony, which will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 29, in the Davis Concert Hall. More information about the ceremony and other 2022 commencement events is available .

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