Jaiden R.
Jaiden, who grew up in Fairbanks, has ânever seen a real beach before.â But even though she pondered Hawaii for college, she didnât feel the need to escape her hometown.
âI just love it here so much that I donât want to go anywhere else,â she said while sitting in the Murie Buildingâs glass lobby on a bright February day. âLike right now, itâs really sunny and you can see the mountain ranges from here.â
The third-year UAF student attended home school for her entire K-12 education, an experience she said worked well for her and her three younger siblings.
âIt definitely taught us independence, thatâs for sure,â she said. âI know home-schoolers get the whole rap, âOh, theyâre socially deprived,â but I played four sports, so I was always around people.â
One of those sports was swimming. Jaiden has parlayed that experience into a lifeguard job, working evenings and weekends at a local public pool.
She also sees broader horizons. Building on a family connection to Germany, Jaiden has taken multiple courses in that nationâs language. She participates in the German Club and works as a teaching assistant for beginning classes at UAF.
âI would really love to go to Germany. Iâve thought about going on an exchange,â she said.
Jaiden also hopes to attend veterinary school, perhaps through UAFâs program, after she earns her biology degree.