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Brenna may be from a small Alaska town originally, but she's seen enough of the world to know that UAF is where she wants to be today. She spent six years living in Decatur, Illinois, with her family, before returning to Nome,
Alaska, and graduating from Nome's high school in 2023.

''I'd already gone across the country and then came back," she said. "So I was like, I’m not doing that again.'"

She headed for ���۴�ý. As a justice major and Honors College scholar, she enjoys not only the campus' many activities but also its friendly vibe.

"I feel like ���۴�ý fosters that kind of intention," she said. "So then the people who come here see that, and then they also behave that way."

Brenna, whose mother was lnupiaq, said ���۴�ý's Rural Student Services office has been especially welcoming as she's moved from high school in Nome to college in Fairbanks.

"It smells like your grandma's home," she said. "They always have like Native food. They always have akutaq or moose soup.''

Brenna attended ���۴�ý’s Rural Alaska Honors Institute the summer before graduating from high school. RAHI brings high school juniors and seniors to the Troth Yeddha’ Campus in Fairbanks for a six-week introduction to college life, and they earn college credit for classes.

“So I was, like, ‘I already know this campus. I know where all my classes will be, and I won't already be stressed out trying to find them,’” she said.

Brenna also has enjoyed ���۴�ý’s online classes more than she expected.

“It makes your schedule really flexible,” she said, “and I feel like it leaves me more time for studying.”