The NAU Review — Meet NAU’s long-haul staffers! Plus, hidden Holocaust history, Women’s History Month + one rad class

March 4, 2025

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

Woman holding up a self-created 'zine' with text, images and colorful construction paper

A different kind of book report

When words fail, how do you express your thoughts and feelings? That’s a question Carla Wilson, an assistant teaching professor of women’s and gender studies, set out to answer with the Radical Sketchbook Project. Inspired by a similar project founded 20 years ago in New York City, Wilson’s class asks students to take what they’re learning and experiencing and communicate it in a creative way. Wilson said sending messages via sketchbook, rather than words, is a unique way to start conversations on complex issues.

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Cover of Speechless: How a Speech Therapist Lost Her Ability to Speak and Her Silent Struggle to Reclaims Her Voice and Life by Vanessa Abraham alongside a cup of coffee and an autumn maple leaf

Humans of NAU
with Vanessa Abraham

After landing in the ICU with a debilitating illness, an NAU alumna and speech therapist chronicled her experiences in a book. Read her story and find out how she’s celebrating her survival anniversary.

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Saving Holocaust history

A cabinet of unplayed cassettes sat gathering dust in Cline Library for decades—until one professor realized they were never-before-heard interviews with Holocaust survivors. Now, he’s working with students to preserve these stories.

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Two students transcribing and digitizing tape interviews in Cline Library

Women’s History Month

March is a time to celebrate those who have fought for women at the polls, in the workplace, at school and everywhere else. Throughout Women’s History Month, NAU’s Commission on the Status of Women and countless offices and clubs will host a spate of fun and educational events. From a paint-and-sip night to a session on workplace wellness to a cooking demo, there’s something for everyone!

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Bleeding blue since ’85

Think you’ve been at NAU a long time? Think again! Advising manager Colleen Rice and senior application programmer Lucy Sullivan started working here 40 years ago and never looked back. Read about their experiences as lifelong Lumberjacks.

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Two NAU staff members throwing LJs inside a conference center

Two pieces of paper reading online and offline, with LED string lights circled around the latter

Six ways to unplug

Itching to step away from the news, Netflix and Nintendo? Want to reconnect with nature, friends and family? We’ve come up with some ideas to help you celebrate National Day of Unplugging on March 7.

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NAU highlights, February 2025, film strip with images of NAU activities in February

Wait, where did February go?

That’s right, March is here! If February flew by too fast for you, catch up on the news headlines you missed—like NAU’s new R1 status and some cool new dinosaur research—in this short recap.

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Portrait of Shawna Woody with a Native American mural and blue sky in the background

Protecting the Southwest

Shawna Woody learned about nature’s interconnectedness from her grandmother. Now, as NAU’s first Thomas D. Sisk Fellow, the junior is carrying that wisdom into her work as a conservation scientist.

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