Z
Advertising and Public Relations · Tehachapi, California
As president of UNL Esports, UNL’s competitive video game RSO, Z is leading the team through a time of rapid expansion. With over 50 members, 10 new scholarships to offer, competitions with teams from other Big Ten schools and approval to construct an esports arena in the Nebraska Union, UNL Esports and Z have a busy year ahead.
Coming to UNL, Z was just worried about fitting in.
“When I came to college, I kept asking myself how I was going to make friends. I went to Big Red Welcome, saw a booth for esports and was like ‘Oh, cool — I’ll go talk to these guys. Since then, I’ve found a ton of friends.”
Z dove into esports during high school, finding a passion (and major talent) that quickly helped her find community at Nebraska. She soon became Outreach Officer for UNL Esports, expanding the group’s presence in the community.
“I really wanted it to improve and grow because I knew it had so much potential,” says Z, citing the explosion of esports’ popularity in the culture. “All we needed was that little push.”
On Z’s end, her “little push” came in the form of marketing and awareness efforts that led to a spike in esports enthusiasm from new and incoming Huskers.
“At last year’s Big Red Welcome we got over three pages of student emails, which is so exciting because we’ve never had interest like that.”
The other “little push” came from talks with the College of Journalism & Mass Communications to create more structural support for UNL Esports, culminating with the approval to construct the new esports arena in the Union and bringing on former Husker football player (and avid gamer) Ahman Green as the full-time coach.
Z hopes these steps further develop the Husker esports community that has so positively shaped her experience at UNL.
“Our biggest goal right now is just letting people know who we are and to make everything we do more accessible,” Z says. “Being part of the esports club has totally changed the trajectory of my life, brought me some of the closest friends I’ve ever had and given me a chance to become a leader.”
Aaron
Director of Cornhusker Speech & Debate · Lincoln, Nebraska
Since its inception 151 years ago as the Palladian Debate Society, the Cornhusker Speech & Debate team has grown into a nationally recognized program that regularly produces Big Ten and national champions.
Dr. Aaron Duncan is the director for Cornhusker Speech & Debate and has been with the team since 2005. When he first came to UNL, he was familiar with the group’s impressive history and their famous former teammates like speechwriter Ted Sorensen.
Aaron and his fellow coaches develop students from a variety of majors for speech and debate competitions. Students competing in speech perform prepared pieces ranging from persuasive and informative speeches to poetry performance. They may also compete in extemporaneous or impromptu speeches where they are given anywhere from two to 30 minutes to draft a speech based on a current event or quotation. Or, students may compete in the debate round, where they research a specific topic for the entire speech season and go head-to-head against other teams.
“We've debated agricultural policy alternative fuels, immigration policy, diplomacy with China,” Aaron said. “All sorts of different topics.”
This April, Aaron and the Cornhusker Speech & Debate team will host the best of the best speech and debate students from across the country at the annual National Speech Tournament. While the Huskers are excited to share their campus with their competitors, they also look forward to defending their status as one of the nation’s top teams. But while the awards and accolades are rewarding, Aaron loves speech and debate for more than just that.
“Teaching students that mindset of resiliency — to be process-focused, to do great research, to think critically and to strive for constant improvement, is really the outcome that we're seeking as an educational activity,” Aaron said. “And then most of all, we also just want it to be fun.”
Sara
Academic Navigator · Fremont, Nebraska
Need advice for feeling successful, safe and healthy on campus? Struggling with school and needing a little extra support? What about someone to talk to about career goals? Personal aspirations? Ways to get involved? General “life stuff”?
UNL’s Academic Navigators are a brand-new resource for Husker students that are there to help with a little bit of everything.
“We’re here to work closely with students based on what they might need in their individual programs,” says Sara, Academic Navigator for Fine & Performing Arts, CoJMC, and Architecture. “We work alongside the people students are already seeing – like academic advisors and success coaches – but are here to be long-term and follow up frequently.”
Like many Academic Navigators, Sara is a UNL alum who’s passionate about helping students. Born in Monterrey, Mexico and growing up in Fremont, NE, Sara studied secondary education as a Husker before moving on to teach English at Schoo Middle School.
With her new role as an Academic Navigator, Sara is excited about the one-on-one engagement opportunities it offers.
“It’s really nice to be able to dig deeper with students about what they’re going through and what can make a meaningful impact,” says Sara. “Something I found as a student was that I didn’t know about a resource until I went looking for it. There are so many awesome resources all over campus, and we can come in to help mediate the system to get students what they need.”
Students can reach an Academic Navigator by scheduling an appointment through the Student Success Hub or, as is the case with Sara, just dropping into their office. Any reason is a good reason to check in with a navigator.
“We work with both academics but also just personal, social life – anything that’s causing a hard time or presenting barriers for students,” explains Sara.
And if a navigator can’t help, they’ll introduce you to someone who can.
“We’re mediators that can make a large institution manageable so that students can be successful.”
Sean
Mechanical Engineering · Lincoln, Nebraska
How, exactly, do you ship a robot to space? As Sean learned first-hand last summer, you do it very, very carefully.
Interning for Nebraska Engineering faculty Shane Farritor’s Virtual Incision lab last summer, Sean suddenly found himself preparing one of Virtual Incision’s surgical robots for its maiden voyage to the International Space Station. Launched into space for its 250-mile journey on Tuesday, the hope is that these robots can one day be used to perform surgery remotely from Earth.
For any of that to be possible, the first test robot needs to arrive at the station intact.
“I mostly worked on the hardware to get it up to the station and perform the experiment where the robot cuts rubber bands in its workspace, simulating surgery,” Sean explains. “I basically helped with the equipment that supports the robot.”
While a “locker” sounds simple enough, the process of ensuring the robot makes the journey safely — and is safe for astronauts to unpack once it gets there — requires a staggering amount of detail.
“We created an early version just for simulating vibrations that the robot will experience during launch,” says Sean. “We also used lots of protective measures, working with NASA to prevent safety hazards like electrical fires or structural failures causing injury.”
Sean, who graduated in December and now works full-time at Virtual Incision, will be anxiously awaiting the results of the robot’s journey.
“It's definitely a little nerve-wracking; it’ll be a week or two later until we know for sure, but I'm really excited.”
And for someone who’s worked on a project soaring so high, Sean stays grounded about the experience.
"It’s a privilege, right?” Sean says. “It’s just an honor, so you have to just keep your head down, try your best and work hard on what needs to get done.”