Arizona Alumni Magazine The Fall 2025 Edition of Arizona Magazine is here.READ THE LATEST ISSUE The Latest Bearing It Together Aurora Seekins ’25 moved around a lot as a kid — until high school, she hadn’t finished a full year of school, and by the time she graduated (salutatorian, no less), she met the federal qualifications for homelessness. That didn’t stop her. Now a U of A graduate and a graduate student in applied economics at Boston College, Seekins reflects on the experiences that got her to where she is, including her time with Fostering Success, a U of A program for students who have experienced foster care, homelessness or housing insecurity. Read More Image Big 12, Year One The U of A just finished its first year in the Big 12 conference—a major milestone. Click through to read about our many victories, as well as getting some perspective on how athletes are adjusting. Read More Image Born in Front of Beans and Rice Melani Martinez’s family ran the El Rapido restaurant in the Presidio district of downtown Tucson for nearly 70 years. Read More Image Subject/Object: Raspberry Pi The University of Arizona Libraries recently hit an unusual milestone: Lending more technology devices than books or other printed matter. Meet one of those devices, a credit-card-sized computer called the Raspberry Pi. Read More Winter 2025 Issue Image Research Science Creature Comfort Learn about the research being done at the U of A into the effect of service dogs on post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. Read More Image Alumni and Donors In the Community The Sky Provides Alum Brad Lancaster has spent more than thirty years studying — and practicing — rainwater harvesting. Read about how he has helped transform his own Tucson neighborhood, and inspired others to transform theirs. Read More Image Sports Student Experience Team Player Freshman men’s basketball forward Carter Bryant talks about his experience being raised around the Deaf community, and how he plans to use his platform to give back. Read More Read Winter 2025 Issue Arts Image Arts Alumni and Donors Ted DeGrazia If it hadn’t been for the copper mines of Morenci, Arizona Territory, little Ettore DeGrazia might never have become the hard-nosed artist Ted DeGrazia. Read More Image Student Experience Arts Making Her Pointe In March, University of Arizona School of Dance student, Avery Gay, took a tip-toed step forward in her quest for the title of “So You Think You Can Dance” champion — and a $100,000 prize. Read More Image Arts Told in Turquoise Display cases of alluring silver, turquoise and shell necklaces make up part of the ancient, historic and contemporary jewelry crafted by regional Indigenous artisans in the Arizona State Museum’s newest exhibit, “Ancient – Modern: Continuity and Innovation in Southwest Native Jewelry.” Read More Science & Research Image Science Simulation for the Future The Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) is adapting to the changing health care landscape to train the next generation of providers. Read More Image Grand Challenges Science Glittering Cargo The last piece of the world’s largest telescope takes shape at UArizona. Read More Image Grand Challenges Research Science Asteroid Bennu Speaks A first look at NASA’s asteroid Bennu sample suggests the presence of water and carbon. Read More Sports Image Sports Arizona NIL Success Story: Maya Nnaji When it comes to her career as a college student, basketball student-athlete and future medical doctor, Arizona standout Maya Nnaji wants to be an agent of change. Read More Image Athletics A ‘Heart Move’ Desireé Reed-Francois returns to the place that ‘extended a compassionate hand’ in a time of need. Read More Image Athletics Diversity The Teaching Game Player-coach relationships define the first 25 years of UArizona wheelchair tennis. Read More From Past Issues Preventing Lunar Traffic Jams Humans are headed back to the moon. Both national space programs and private companies have begun planning, with aspirations to send humans to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Read More Image Homecoming Memory The University of Arizona's first Homecoming — the fifth in the nation — was in 1914. This photo from 1956 celebrates the Homecoming parade and the lost art of float making. Read More Image Beyond Ordinary Carina Bennett remembers her first day working on the OSIRIS-REx mission: She found herself among space scientists with years of experience. It was rocket science, but she was a filmmaker. Read More Image Four Questions Research led by University of Arizona psychologist Stephen Cowen illustrates how chronic pain may impact cognitive abilities, such as decision-making, as well. Read More View Past Issues Contact the Editor If you have thoughts about content in the Arizona Alumni Magazine or story ideas, reach out to the editor to share your feedback. Contact Submit a Class Note Tell us about career accomplishments, book announcements, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, and death announcements or share family photos, reflections, and other alumni news. Submit a note Share Your Photos Share your spectacular imagery or Wildcat spirit from around the world in travel photos to be used in the online magazine and on social media. Learn more
Bearing It Together Aurora Seekins ’25 moved around a lot as a kid — until high school, she hadn’t finished a full year of school, and by the time she graduated (salutatorian, no less), she met the federal qualifications for homelessness. That didn’t stop her. Now a U of A graduate and a graduate student in applied economics at Boston College, Seekins reflects on the experiences that got her to where she is, including her time with Fostering Success, a U of A program for students who have experienced foster care, homelessness or housing insecurity. Read More
Image Big 12, Year One The U of A just finished its first year in the Big 12 conference—a major milestone. Click through to read about our many victories, as well as getting some perspective on how athletes are adjusting. Read More
Image Born in Front of Beans and Rice Melani Martinez’s family ran the El Rapido restaurant in the Presidio district of downtown Tucson for nearly 70 years. Read More
Image Subject/Object: Raspberry Pi The University of Arizona Libraries recently hit an unusual milestone: Lending more technology devices than books or other printed matter. Meet one of those devices, a credit-card-sized computer called the Raspberry Pi. Read More
Image Research Science Creature Comfort Learn about the research being done at the U of A into the effect of service dogs on post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. Read More
Image Alumni and Donors In the Community The Sky Provides Alum Brad Lancaster has spent more than thirty years studying — and practicing — rainwater harvesting. Read about how he has helped transform his own Tucson neighborhood, and inspired others to transform theirs. Read More
Image Sports Student Experience Team Player Freshman men’s basketball forward Carter Bryant talks about his experience being raised around the Deaf community, and how he plans to use his platform to give back. Read More
Image Arts Alumni and Donors Ted DeGrazia If it hadn’t been for the copper mines of Morenci, Arizona Territory, little Ettore DeGrazia might never have become the hard-nosed artist Ted DeGrazia. Read More
Image Student Experience Arts Making Her Pointe In March, University of Arizona School of Dance student, Avery Gay, took a tip-toed step forward in her quest for the title of “So You Think You Can Dance” champion — and a $100,000 prize. Read More
Image Arts Told in Turquoise Display cases of alluring silver, turquoise and shell necklaces make up part of the ancient, historic and contemporary jewelry crafted by regional Indigenous artisans in the Arizona State Museum’s newest exhibit, “Ancient – Modern: Continuity and Innovation in Southwest Native Jewelry.” Read More
Image Science Simulation for the Future The Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) is adapting to the changing health care landscape to train the next generation of providers. Read More
Image Grand Challenges Science Glittering Cargo The last piece of the world’s largest telescope takes shape at UArizona. Read More
Image Grand Challenges Research Science Asteroid Bennu Speaks A first look at NASA’s asteroid Bennu sample suggests the presence of water and carbon. Read More
Image Sports Arizona NIL Success Story: Maya Nnaji When it comes to her career as a college student, basketball student-athlete and future medical doctor, Arizona standout Maya Nnaji wants to be an agent of change. Read More
Image Athletics A ‘Heart Move’ Desireé Reed-Francois returns to the place that ‘extended a compassionate hand’ in a time of need. Read More
Image Athletics Diversity The Teaching Game Player-coach relationships define the first 25 years of UArizona wheelchair tennis. Read More
Preventing Lunar Traffic Jams Humans are headed back to the moon. Both national space programs and private companies have begun planning, with aspirations to send humans to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Read More
Image Homecoming Memory The University of Arizona's first Homecoming — the fifth in the nation — was in 1914. This photo from 1956 celebrates the Homecoming parade and the lost art of float making. Read More
Image Beyond Ordinary Carina Bennett remembers her first day working on the OSIRIS-REx mission: She found herself among space scientists with years of experience. It was rocket science, but she was a filmmaker. Read More
Image Four Questions Research led by University of Arizona psychologist Stephen Cowen illustrates how chronic pain may impact cognitive abilities, such as decision-making, as well. Read More
