Saturday, April 21, 2018

Part of a regular series.

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com uses this space to profile conference student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Collectively, it is these individuals who make the GNAC one of the top NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the nation. 

Name: Nona Letuligasenoa
School: Alaska
Title: Assistant Athletic Director of Communications & Sports Information Director
Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska

Colleges Attended & Degrees: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Undergraduate, Communications and Business Management)

Why Did You Decide To Work In Collegiate Athletics: I had a wonderful experience being a student-athlete myself and I have an extreme passion for sports. So when a position within the UAF athletic department opened up, I figured it would be a great fit for me professionally and thankfully, it has worked out.

Who Has Influenced You The Most As A Professional - Either As An Inspiration, A Mentor, Or Philosophically: There's too many to name but if I had to pick one person, it's my brother, Togi Letuligasenoa. Although he doesn't work in collegiate sports, he has always been a mentor to me throughout my entire life. I've always respected the way he treats others and carries himself in professional and non-professional settings and I strive to be held in the same regard.

Biggest Obstacle Overcome As A Professional: The biggest challenge I've had to overcome as a sports information director is that, unfortunately, I cannot make everyone happy all the time. As someone who is new to this profession, I tend to make some mistakes, but I try to learn from as many of them as possible.

What Does Division II Mean To You: I think being a Division II school is really great. We've had plenty of student-athletes come through our program who could be highly competitive at the Division I level, while also giving a lot of students the opportunity to be a collegiate athlete who normally would've quit after high school. At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure all of our student-athletes have the opportunity to earn a degree and have a great collegiate experience and I think all Division II programs feel the same way.

Extracurricular Activities: Boating, fishing, paddleboarding, wake surfing, spending time with friends and family, going to the movies.

Best Advice You’d Give To Student-Athletes: Enjoy it. Being a student-athlete will come and go quicker than you realize, so make sure to enjoy the little things.

If You Could Spend The Day With One Person (Past Or Present), Who Would It Be (And Why): Probably Dan Patrick. I watch his show every day and really respect him as a figure in the media. I'd love to get some advice from him on how to continue working in sports.

Favorite Sports Team: The Oakland Raiders.

Favorite Athlete: My best friend, Vicky Persinger, who is a professional curler.

Most Memorable Sports-Related Moment: Probably my first collegiate hockey game. We got crushed by the defending national champion and I don't even think I got a shift until we were down 4-0, but it was a goal of mine to play hockey at the Division I level and to finally achieve that with my family there to support me was one of the most memorable moments in my entire life.