The NAU-Yavapai blog is a collection of blog posts written by our staff, faculty, and students! We are super excited to offer you a bird’s eye view into our campus and hope you come back for all the latest NAU – Yavapai news.
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Internship: 2013 Arizona Legislative Internship Position: Legislative Leadership Intern, Communications History: The 2013 Arizona Legislative Internship allows students from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona to participate in the political process by working directly with Members of the Arizona Legislature. The internship was established in 1971 and has successfully developed into a full-fledged, nationally recognized program that gives college students experience with the legislative process, exposure to public policy issues and enables students to learn the inner-workings of state government. It is a unique opportunity to assist the Legislature while providing service opportunities for college students from various backgrounds. Responsibilities: Communications Drafted news releases, media advisories and editorial letters. Attended press conferences, stakeholder and leadership meetings. Utilized social media platforms to convey legislative updates and inform the public on legislative priorities. Disseminated information to Leadership regarding current events and media reports. Public Policy Research Conducted research, drafted summaries of bills, attended committee hearings and presented bills in committees. Communicated with legislators, liaisons of state agencies, constituents and members of the general public. NAU-Yavapai Application: Although a large portion of my time was devoted to communications duties, I engaged in a significant amount of legislative research. Often, business courses teach students to draft executive summaries for their respective supervisors. This requires specific communication and research skills. Many of my NAU Yavapai classes required detailed research of course topics and current events. Attention to detail was necessary to fully complete course objectives and gain a thorough understanding of relevant material. The internship Read more »
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Students, staff, and faculty had a blast at NAU-Yavapai’s 2nd Annual Kudos Awards Night! Awards were given for excellence in education, leadership, sustainability practices, positive attitude, and growth- plus a few surprise awards for staff and faculty who have helped make this campus such a fun and exciting place to learn, study, and to work.
NAU-Yavapai honored students in the following categories
CAMPUS LEADER AWARD Honoring Student Leadership on Campus Tessa Hill
LEAPS AND BOUNDS AWARD Celebrating Student Growth Irene Saucedo & Jeanne Kochan (not pictured)
GOOD EGG AWARD Recognizing exemplary positive mental attitude Lyndsie Aquilina
SMALLEST FOOTPRINT AWARD In appreciation of Sustainable Living Steve Read ROOSEVELT AWARD Celebrating Committment to the Community Cora Lei Marquez
Additionally, NAU-Yavapai awarded Prescott Valley Councilwoman, Lora Lee Nye, the Legacy Award for her leadership in helping to bring NAU-Yavapai to Prescott Valley, and for her dedication to higher education.
This year’s Grand Kudo Award went to Professor Kristen Taubman for her passion and dedication to Higher Education. Professor Derk was surpsised when we honored him with his very own award - The Campus Clown Award – for his joy, sense of humor, and willingness to jump head-first into whatever silly project we ask him to. Our final award of the night was to Dr. Susan Johnstad for her tireless support of/boundless enthusiasm for/and inspiring leadership of NAU-Yavapai. We thank Dr. Johnstad, and congratulate her on all she has enabled NAU-Y to accomplish! We’ll post Read more »
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NAU-Yavapai student Jeffery Zhengyang is currently in Florida enjoying his Walt Disney World College Internship. We spoke with Jefferey about his experience thus far:
Jeffery: The Walt Disney World College Internship program provides the unique opportunity to learn more about how this well-known entertainment business operates. Working mostly in the food and beverage lines, each day I have experienced and witnessed how our excellent food delivery and services make the guests feel special, important, and happy. I feel I have gotten valuable, hands-on experience while here, which helps me develop deep insights into how Disney serves guests to maximize their satisfaction. Some of the lessons I have applied are to keep smiling, keep a positive mind-set, and keep moving forward. Candidly, this program was not as fantastic as I once imaged. Some issues I ran into were easily resolved; but unfortunately, some of them were out of my control. Just like school, students might not like every class they have taken. They may find some teachers were not their type. Some people were doing a job that they didn’t enjoy doing. What are we going to do when we face these situations? Dropping out of school or quitting the job? Some people might choose these options, but not me! I will try to smile in the worst circumstances, force myself to thinking positive sides of things, and ignore the negative thoughts that would distract me from reaching my ultimate goals: We never know what miracle is waiting for Read more »
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Last March, a host of determined NAU-Y students and faculty endured four and a half hours & twelve miles of hypothermia, bloody knees and elbows, groin pulls, electrical burns, one broken foot and LOTS of sweat… all so they could cross the Tough Mudder finish line in Mesa, AZ.
None would have survived without teamwork, grit, and team spirit. Professor Kristen Taubman recounts her experience:
“Post Mudder, my injuries rendered me practically immobile for 48 hours. It was one of the more powerful experiences of my life. I learned a great deal about myself that morning and I was overwhelmed by the spirit of the event. Every Mudder was there to be a part of the experience and to share in the journey. It is not a race! I am extremely proud to know everyone of my teammates, and if my knees remain scarred for the rest of my life, I will wear those scars like a badge of honor.”
We are so proud of our NAU-Y family! Congratulations to: Tessa Hill, Cody Frey, Scott Slay, Emilia Adair, Joe Richards, and Professors Kristen Taubman and Ian Derk.
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We cannot BELIEVE our first graduating class will be leaving us this May! Time has truly flown by, and we have to thank all of the wonderful students, staff, faculty and community members who have helped our campus grow – we wouldn’t be here without you 
We will be posting more information about all of our exciting May events (Kudos Awards Night and our local graduation celebration) soon. But in the meantime, graduating seniors should check out the NAU Commencement link.
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Wow – we can’t believe it’s been so long since we’ve posted! We’ve been busy as bees over here, and it’s time to catch everyone up on what’s been going on
DECEMBER
NAU-Y students closed out the Winter Session with a Holiday bazaar! With homemade baked goods, and craft gifts, students enjoyed doing their last minute shopping between classes.
Students also got to “pie” their professors during finals week!
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
After a restful Winter break, NAU-Y welcomed new students to campus with Spring Orientation. We have some amazing students, and we love seeing their smiling faces every week! So, on Valentines Day, students were treated to chocolate dipped strawberries and other yummy treats from faculty and staff!
As February drew to a close, professor Kristen Taubman and students were busy with preparation for the Rotary Club’s Hunger Banquet at Casa Senior Center. Students, staff, and faculty were on hand to help the Rotary club with set up, food service, and tear down. The Hunger Banquet raised over $3000 to help stamp out hunger in Yavapai County!
The next day, Professors Taubman and Derk, along with a handful of NAU-Y students, completed the Tough Mudder obstacle race in Phoenix! Known as one of the most difficult of such races, Tough Mudder covers twelve obstacle-laden kilometers.
As you can see, we’ve had a busy couple of months! Stay tuned for more updates from campus
IMPORTANT: NAU-Yavapai and Yavapai College in Prescott/Prescott Valley are closed today due to severe weather conditions. Be safe out there, everybody.
NAU-Yavapai students are gearing up to help with the upcoming Rotary Club Hunger Banquet, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Prescott & Rotary E-Club of the Southwest. The banquet will educate participants about the challenges faced by hungry families in Yavapai County, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Yavapai Food Bank.
Applied Human Behavior (AHB) lead faculty, Kristen Taubman, is currently recruiting students to work as food servers and event volunteers. Considering our AHB students’ dedication to serving the community, the Banquet is a perfect fit.
The event will feature an evening of dinner, education, awareness and fellowship, and will be held at CASA Senior Center in Prescott Valley. February 22, 2013, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. The community is also invited to join in and help support our local food bank working for the benefit of our neighbors. Contact doreen.berggren@gmail.com for more information.
Sponsorships are still available – Tickets are $10.00 each
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Yesterday was an exciting day on campus…
In the early afternoon, we set up our first “Holiday Bazaar” – a collection of handmade items for sale, made by students, staff, and faculty. The bazaar will conclude Thursday, and we can’t wait to see what new goodies our NAU-Yavapai family brings!
We had just gotten things cleaned up when a pretty-but-unfortunate pigeon flew right-smack into our front window! The poor thing left a full body “dust” print on the glass – then hunkered down in the gravel beneath it for longer than seemed healthy. Concerned for it’s safety, we brought it a little bowl of water and saw that the pretty pigeon was in fact tagged!
So, we called the amazing people over at Heritage Park Zoo, who offered to help the little guy/gal recuperate over night so it could continue its journey in the morning.
What a happy ending to the poor thing’s day! And what an odd little adventure for our staff!
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Biosphere 2 in Tuscon, AZ, is a 3.14 acre earth science research facility, dedicated to study, outreach, teaching and life-long learning about Earth (the original Biosphere). NAU-Yavapai Community Development and Sustainability students enjoyed a field trip to the center in November, led by Dr.Constance Brown and accompanied by Professors Kristen Taubman and Ian Derk.
The group of about 28 students, took a VIP guided tour of all the facilities of the complex, which features several ecosystems all recreated under the Biosphere 2 dome:
While the University of Tuscon now operates the complex, it was actually founded by Space Biospheres Ventures, which began construction of the facility in 1986 to research and develop self-sustaining space-colonization technology.
Two missions, between 1991 and 1994, sealed Biospherians inside the glass enclosure to measure survivability. Behind this highly public exercise was useful research that helped further ecological understanding. Several first-person accounts have been published by former crew members that provide different perspectives on the experiment. (www.b2science.org)
NAU- Yavapai students participate in several hands-on projects and activities throughout the year. As our campus continues to grow, our students are able to enjoy more activities such as this exciting trip.
We can’t wait to share future adventures with you!
