An NAU graduate celebrates after receiving her diploma.

NAU honors Class of 2024 in two commencement ceremonies

Graduate Cody Rieffer in flannel in the forest holding a small white dog

Campus & Community

Graduate Cody Rieffer: Finding his footing in the College of Nursing

Cody Rieffer didn’t start college planning to be a nurse. After a journey that included a few starts and stops, a hospital stay that highlighted the important work nurses do and faculty members who loved their work and wanted to see their students succeed, he will achieve a lifelong goal while also being a part of NAU’s history—a member of the inaugural graduating class of the College of Nursing.

Campus & Community

Graduate Megan Carpenter: Fighting for inclusivity in music

In the Lumberjack Marching Band and beyond, Megan Carpenter has established herself as a leader who’s committed to making sure everyone is seen and heard. Now, the Gold Axe winner has her sights set on a career teaching and advocating for the next generation of band nerds.

Faculty & Staff

Graduate Jocelyn Andrade: Supporting ‘unseen’ Arizonans

Years after Jocelyn Andrade witnessed her mother’s deportation, she still wears the memory like a scar: a sometimes painful but often galvanizing reminder that families need each other and their communities. The experience has inspired the NAU Yuma social work grad to pursue a life advocating for the most vulnerable people in society.

Research & Academics

How an iconic desert tree survives extreme heat—and the unique risk it’s facing now

Even in extreme heat waves, Fremont cottonwood trees can cool themselves through evaporation in their leaves, similar to the way we sweat when we’re hot. It’s how they’ve survived in Arizona and throughout the Southwest. However, this iconic, ecologically important tree needs water to use this cooling mechanism, and both climate change and human use of this critical resource are making water increasingly hard for the trees to access, putting desert forests and all they contribute to the state at risk, according to new research.

An example of a meteor captured by a LOCAMS camera. Camera networks such as LOCAMS have been digitally observing meteors for the past ~15 years, constraining the orbits of meteor showers we can now use to simulate the orbits of the comets that left these streams behind.

How to find a comet before it hits Earth

First-year Ph.D. student Samantha Hemmelgarn led a study that looked at "footprints"—those meteor showers we see occasionally in the night sky—of comets that haven't passed Earth in 200 years to determine where those comets are now and, importantly, whether any of them are on an impact path with our planet.

Achievement unlocked: Physical therapy professor redefines health education using interactive gaming

For the Phoenix Bioscience Core's third Artist + Researcher Exhibition, assistant professor Hayley Root joined forces with Phoenix-based artist Kevin Clark to design Health Quest, a video game that uses nine platformer levels to guide real-world healthy living.

Campus & Community

Team College Bound families and faculty pose in front of a blue backdrop in Coconino High School.

Team College Bound: Bridging gaps and opening doors for Arizona families

Team College Bound is a five-lesson curriculum designed to guide the families of first-generation and underserved students through all things enrollment, from admissions and tuition payments to on-campus resources and progression plans. With specialized Indigenous, Spanish and online courses, the program aims to develop accessible checklists, workshops and support networks that demonstrate the transformative value of higher education and help families develop confidence in their ability to navigate university alongside their Lumberjacks.

graduate in NAU regalia walking toward a stage

NAU teacher certification partnership program celebrates first graduates

The NAU West Valley Pathways to Teaching program is combating Arizona’s teacher shortage by meeting would-be educators where they are, allowing them to take classes while working. The program celebrates its first cohort of nine graduates this month.

Graduate Megan Carpenter: Fighting for inclusivity in music

In the Lumberjack Marching Band and beyond, Megan Carpenter has established herself as a leader who’s committed to making sure everyone is seen and heard. Now, the Gold Axe winner has her sights set on a career teaching and advocating for the next generation of band nerds.

Lumberjack Features

JOzie Ashleson hiking in the red rocks of Sedona

Humans of NAU: Jozie Ashleson

What TV show affected a young Jozie Ashleson's career choice? Find out the PA student's early career goals, the pivotal event that drove her interest in healthcare and why she chose to stay at NAU after getting her bachelor’s degree.

A cartoon trumpet on a yellow diamond against a black background. The trumpet is surrounded by the words "TCNAU" and the Roman numerals "MMXXIV" in white text.

Club Spotlight: Trumpet Club of NAU

Calling all trumpet lovers! NAU's new student-run Trumpet Club is sure to strike a chord, whether you're a seasoned member of the marching band or just looking for a place to jam out. Read on to learn more about how the organization's co-presidents formed the club, what they plan to accomplish next semester and how they fell in love with the brass instrument in the first place.

Jaden Blake L. Reyes posing in front of a projected rainbow

What Transgender Day of Remembrance means to me

I am Jaden Blake Lumacad Reyes (he/they), a proud queer Filipino transmasculine person who is doing his best every day to live his most authentic life. I would not be able to live this way without the trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color who fought for our rights, who fought for our existence, who fought for the rest of our community and the rights of other trans generations to come.