The NAU Review — Celebrating faculty and staff excellence, how young people see COVID and a student’s experience with Phoenix Rising

April 30, 2024

The NAU Review. The official news source for Northern Arizona University.

Christine Davis stands with her award at the High Country Conference Center

The 2024 Professional Achievement Ceremony

Last Tuesday, NAU honored dozens of faculty and staff for their work in the past year and throughout their careers. Faculty across all colleges and departments were recognized for excellence in research, teaching, creative activity and mentorship, as were faculty who earned promotions in the past year. Nine staff members also were honored with the President’s Achievement Awards for their exceptional work to advance NAU’s mission. “As we approach the end of another banner year of achievements at our university, I am deeply appreciative of all that our faculty and staff have contributed to making this work possible,” President José Luis Cruz Rivera said.

How an athletic trainer found his passion on the pitch

Master’s student Enrique De La Cruz has always loved soccer. He found it on the sidelines as an athletic trainer for Phoenix Rising. Learn how his experiences as a player and his education at NAU prepared him for the job.

Read the story

Enrique De La Cruz walks on soccer field with water bottles.

A collage that a Gen Zer made to illustrate their feelings.

How the pandemic changed Gen Z’s response to death

Student Fabienne Sparks conducted research to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic changed young people’s perceptions of death. She found Gen Z often uses humor to process loss and contemplate their own mortality.

Read the story

Making connections at the U.S./Mexico border

Four anthropology students reflect on the experiences they had during their visits to a community center in Nogales that aids border crossers, a humanitarian aid organization in Ajo that makes water drops and their conversation with a human rights activist and pastor from the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Read the blog

Yifan Pi and friends sit under an arch in Arches National Park.

Humans of NAU
with Yifan Pi

An early childhood education major at Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College, Pi is spending his junior year at NAU, taking classes at the College of Education and gaining hands-on experience teaching alongside Stephen Riek at Flagstaff Cooperative Preschool. He shared why he loves working with young children.

Read the Q&A