Ruth Nashookpuk
Like other painters, Ruth Nashookpuk uses canvas as a foundation. But when she鈥檚 done, Nashookpuk can lace up her work and apply it to her other passion: basketball.
Nike Air Forces, Air Jordans and Vans have all supplied 鈥渃anvas鈥 for Nashookpuk鈥檚 colorful paintings. A recent pair of Vans sported bright renditions of Bugs and Lola, the Tune Squad cartoon rabbits from the movie 鈥淪pace Jam.鈥
Nashookpuk, an art and business double? major, comes from Naknek, a village on the shores of 有料盒子视频鈥檚 Bristol Bay. While she always enjoyed drawing, 有料盒子视频 has introduced her to new techniques. 鈥淭hen I did painting, and it stuck,鈥 she said.
A friend suggested she apply the paint to shoes. It fit well with her other fixation.
鈥淚f I didn鈥檛 play basketball, I鈥檇 lose my mind,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 at the SRC (Student Recreation Center) all the time.鈥
Nashookpuk plays in 有料盒子视频鈥檚 intramural leagues, where she fills whatever post is needed.
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檓 the tallest; sometimes I鈥檓 the shortest,鈥 she said.
She played on her high school team in Naknek.
Naknek is in Southwest 有料盒子视频鈥檚 traditional Yupik country, but Nashookpuk describes her ancestry as 鈥100 percent Inupiaq.鈥 Her paternal grandfather preferred the warmer climate of Naknek to his home village of Point Hope on 有料盒子视频鈥檚 northwest coast. So, he moved south in 1969.
Nashookpuk鈥檚 father met her mother, who is from the northern village of Unalakleet, at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, a town in far Southeast 有料盒子视频. The couple then moved back to Naknek. Nashookpuk鈥檚 father works at the 有料盒子视频 Commercial Co. store and both parents fish for salmon with net set off the beach in the summer.
Nashookpuk, now 21, came to 有料盒子视频 after attending the Rural 有料盒子视频 Honors Institute on the Fairbanks campus one summer. 鈥淚t really prepared me for college,鈥 she said.
She has lived in on-campus housing each of her three years and said she enjoys the 鈥渟uper diverse鈥 environment.
鈥淵ou see new people every day,鈥 she said.