Reclaiming Identity Through Language and Care: Shooka Bennett

The UAF College of Liberal Arts proudly recognizes Shooka Bennett as one of the 2024–2025 Outstanding Students in the Department of Psychology.

When Shooka Bennett first arrived at UAF, she was excited to explore campus life—but soon found herself struggling to balance school with the excitement of newfound independence. “I was focusing too much on making friends and hanging out rather than focusing on my studies,” she says. The consequence was swift: academic probation. But Shooka didn’t stay there. “I was able to kind of pull myself out of that hole of academic probation,” she says. “And I was able to go on and continuously make like the Dean’s list. And I've gotten my act together, and I'm going to be graduating.”

Now a senior majoring in psychology with a minor in Iñupiaq, Shooka is planning to continue into graduate school in counseling psychology. That clarity of purpose wasn’t always so straightforward. For a time, she was pursuing two degrees—one in psychology and Iñupiaq, and the other in �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Studies with a concentration in cultural revitalization—before realizing the demands of both would delay her graduation by years. “I had that turning point of realizing that I need to drop that bachelor's. And I need to just focus on completing the one,” she explains. “And I feel like I have truly found my path of just sticking with psychology.”

A proud advocate for Native language and community, Shooka’s minor in Iñupiaq isn’t just academic—it’s deeply personal. Her family’s dialect, Qawiaraq (Fish River) Iñupiatun, is critically endangered. “The last that I checked, there [were] less than 10 fluent speakers, and that was like 15 years ago,” she says. She hopes to teach her younger siblings and extended family, and to incorporate her language skills into her future work as a counselor. “Being able to talk to Native people of my region in a language that they understand, besides English,” she says, is a powerful way to bridge generational and cultural gaps.

For students just beginning their UAF journey, Shooka’s advice is simple: don’t isolate. “Go out and socialize. Go out and meet people in your dorms, go to the events that are planned at UAF,” she says. “Even if you know nothing about what that club is about, go and join it. It's fun to meet new people.” Her own experience proves how finding the right community—and the right path—can make all the difference.

As she prepares for graduation and beyond, Shooka’s path is grounded in care, connection, and cultural continuity. Whether through counseling or language revitalization, she’s building a future where others feel seen, supported, and spoken to—in every sense of the word.