UAF photo by Eric Engman.
UAF alumni and staff gather for the campus tour during Nanook Rendezvous 2025. Back
row, from left, are Nook, Kyle Agustines 鈥24, William Zybach 鈥81, Eleanor Smith 鈥75,
Mary Donaldson, Wayne Donaldson 鈥80 and Robert Seitz 鈥68. Front row, from left, are
UAF student assistant Keely Vatcher; Gwenetta Johnson 鈥96, 鈥99; Ray Alda 鈥21; Valerie
Demming 鈥75, 鈥84; Rhonda Widener 鈥01; UAF alumni relations storytelling manager Katie
Straub; and Judy Dellinger 鈥93.
Imagery and photos courtesy of alumni unless otherwise noted. Information is courtesy of alumni and public sources.
Stuart Watkins 鈥65, 鈥68 has published a new children鈥檚 book, 鈥淲hen Dragonflies Breathed Fire.鈥 A retired teacher, Watkins has long enjoyed writing poems, short stories and children鈥檚 books, and he encourages others to share their work through publishing. He is an active member of the Arizona State Poetry Society, past president of the Tucson Poetry Society and a member of the Society of Southwestern Authors and SaddleBrooke Writer鈥檚 Club.
Before devoting his time to writing, Watkins built an impressive career in competitive shooting. He won a gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia. While a student at UAF, he earned All-American honors four years in a row. In 1963, he was the collegiate national champion in both the small-bore and large-bore categories. Watkins also enjoys pointing out that he was the national 鈥淏B gun鈥 rifle champion in 1969 鈥 though the event was actually an air-rifle competition. The pellets were the size of BBs.
Karalee Watts 鈥13 led the rebranding effort at Spirit of Alaska Credit Union, guiding her marketing team through the creation of a refreshed visual identity and an updated brand. Their work was honored nationally with two America鈥檚 Credit Unions Diamond Awards, one recognizing excellence in logo design and another for rebrand/new corporate identity.
Watts, who serves as the credit union鈥檚 vice president of marketing and community relations, submitted the project for consideration earlier this year, just ahead of the brand鈥檚 official launch. The recognition highlights the team鈥檚 creativity and dedication to strengthening the connection between Spirit of Alaska Credit Union and the community it serves.
Chelsea Roehl 鈥17 is an art director for NBC Universal in Los Angeles, California. She leads design efforts to ensure the highest level of visual consistency across the Peacock platform for every new title launch.
Most recently, she was part of the team that delivered streaming access to the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad on Peacock, a project that earned a sports Emmy Award for outstanding interactive experience.
Nickole Conley 鈥21 has been appointed as the University of Alaska system鈥檚 interim chief human resources officer.
Conley began her career at 黑料吃瓜网 in 2003 and has served as UAF chief of staff since 2018. Her roles before that include time as the chief financial officer for UAF鈥檚 黑料吃瓜网 of Engineering and Mines and deputy operations director at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. Conley brings extensive experience in both human resources and finance and has played a key role in several universitywide initiatives, including strategic planning and advancing UAF鈥檚 R1 research designation. She also established the Signers鈥 Business Office 鈥 a shared services unit that supports campuswide functions in fiscal and grant management, procurement and human resources.
Destiny Reimers 鈥24 has been named graduate assistant coach for the 黑料吃瓜网 women鈥檚 basketball program following her selection as a Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation Tara VanDerveer Fund Fellow for the Advancement of Women in Coaching.
In her new role, Reimers will support all aspects of the Division II program in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Her responsibilities include program marketing, recruiting qualified student-athletes, advanced opponent scouting, coordinating team travel, providing academic case management and ensuring compliance with NCAA regulations.
A standout for the Nanooks from 2021-2025, Reimers averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game over her career. As a senior in 2024-2025, she led the team in both average scoring (14) and rebounding (6.4) per game, while ranking second in assists (64), steals (47) and blocks (16). That season, she notched four 20-point performances and five double-doubles, earning GNAC All-Conference honorable mention recognition.
Reimers holds a Bachelor of Arts in rural development from UAF.
In memoriam
View a list of alumni and friends whose passage has been shared with us since the previous issue of Aurora.