Olivia Maiefski, a 2009 alumnus from Mountain Pointe High School, graduated from the University of Arizona Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in speech, language and hearing sciences and a minor in Spanish. Maiefski graduated summa cum laude.

Ahwatukee resident Michael Feyrer subscribes to the philosophy that his life is like a pair of shoes — to be worn out in service.

Chamberlain College of Nursing announced the appointment of Dr. Pamela Fuller, of Ahwatukee, as president of its Phoenix campus. Fuller succeeds Dr. Kimberly LaMar, who has served as the Phoenix campus president since 2009 and now becomes senior director of campus operations at Chamberlain.

Seattle Pacific University 2013 winter quarter dean’s list has been announced.

Sonoran Science Academy

Seniors at Mountain Park Senior Living in Ahwatukee are taking up a new activity once a week: singing and dancing.

The value of home sales in Western states rose over the last year even as the number of transactions slipped, according to an official with the National Association of Realtors.

Chandler Angell of Ahwatukee was named to the dean’s list at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the fall 2012 semester. The dean’s list recognizes full-time students who maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 and have no grades below “C.” Angell studies electrical engineering.

Summer is right around the corner and soon parents will have to find ways to keep their children preoccupied until the leaves start falling off the trees again.

Ahwatukee resident Kylie B. Crawford made the academic dean’s list at Azusa Pacific University in California. Crawford was honored for the fall 2012 semester for having a 3.5 GPA or better average. Crawford is a psychology major.

Loyola Marymount University has announced the students named to the dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester. Among them are two students from Ahwatukee Foothills: Ramona Ekpe and Nickolas Smith.

Benjamin E. McKinnon of Ahwatukee has earned the dean’s list for the 2012 fall semester at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. To be eligible for the dean’s list, students must be enrolled full time and maintain a 3.25 or better GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Sara Elizabeth Matsumoto of Ahwatukee Foothills was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester at Washington University in St. Louis. Matsumoto is enrolled in the university’s college of arts and sciences. To qualify for the dean’s list in the college of arts and sciences, students must earn a semester GPA of 3.6 or above and be enrolled in at least 14 graded units.

What should be a hilarious, long-overdue pairing of two hugely likable, superstar comedians ends up being a major disappointment with "Admission."

Walter Salles' "On the Road" was made with noble intentions, finely-crafted filmmaking and handsome casting, but, alas, it does not burn, burn, burn.

Dean Starbuck can spin pizza dough above his head for one minute and thirty seconds. He and his co-workers from local restaurant chain Barro’s Pizza are hoping to beat that record at this year’s International Pizza Expo and World Pizza Games in Las Vegas.

In an effort to get ahead of the curve in entrepreneurship and student success, South Mountain Community College (SMCC) has appointed long-time Ahwatukee Foothills center associate dean Dr. Cheryl Crutcher to a new position.

Boy, do I feel sorry for smokers these days. Smoking used to be so fashionable and hip in the James Dean and Steve McQueen days.

Erin Andrews-Sharer, a graduate of Desert Vista High School, has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at the College of Wooster. Andrews-Sharer, a sophomore from Wheaton, achieved a GAP of 3.65 or above.

Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) announced it will open a corporate college to focus on customized technical training for local employers.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident ReyAnn Rivera is among 217 high achieving students from Whittier College who made the fall 2012 dean’s list. Undergraduate students are awarded dean’s list honors if he or she earns a 3.70 GPA while completing a full-time course load (12 units) in the fall and spring terms.

Packed into the school’s gymnasium Friday morning, students at Mountain Pointe High School celebrated diversity, culture, and Black History Month awareness with a series of assemblies for upper and lower classmen.

Everest College Phoenix announced that Thomas Waite from Tempe has been appointed as provost and chief academic officer. Waite is a veteran educator and administrator with 24 years in management and will serve the institution’s online, Phoenix and Mesa campuses in his new capacity.

Allysa Singh, a resident of Ahwatukee, was named to Siena College’s dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester. Singh is a sophomore computer science major.