News Photo by Darby Hinkley Kayla Wikaryasz, The News’ health and environmental reporter, stands in the newsroom on Wednesday. Wikaryasz joined The News on March 10.

ALPENA — Posen native Kayla Wikaryasz has returned to Northeast Michigan as the new health and environmental reporter for The Alpena News. She started on March 10.

“My background, for context, starts in about 1912,” Wikaryasz said. “I’m not that old, but the family is. My great-grandparents came from Poland, and they settled in the Posen area. I live on Wikaryasz Road. They settled in the area, so they got to name the road.”

She said their property is located about five minutes from Bolton Ridge Bar and Grill.

“My great-grandparents settled the farm, and we’ve been there since then,” she said.

Her great-grandparents were John and Mary Wikaryasz, and her grandparents were Isadore and Marge Wikaryasz. Her parents are Rick and Denise Wikaryasz, and she has a younger brother, Jacob, and an older sister, Leah.

“My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and me, we’ve all lived on the property,” she said. “We have a hobby farm. We have my beagle, Buckshot. We call her Bucky … And then we have Nellie, who is this feral terrier … I also adopted a little chihuahua named Ralf.”

She said they also have 13 chickens.

“We’ve had pigs, off and on, throughout my life,” Wikaryasz said. “We’re thinking about getting two more pigs within the next year or so. We’ve had steers a few times … We’ve also had goats before.”

Wikaryasz, now 26, attended Alpena Community College for two years, took a gap year during the COVID-19 pandemic, then continued her education at Michigan State University.

“I was thinking about going into publishing, so I wanted to do English,” Wikaryasz said. “ACC didn’t have an English program at the time … I eventually transferred over to Michigan State.”

She earned a bachelor’s degree from MSU.

“My degree is in interdisciplinary humanities,” Wikaryasz said. “It’s a specific major to MSU. It’s kind of like an umbrella degree that has degrees within it. So, my focus, my cognates, they call them, were professional public writing, graphic design, creative writing, and then I picked up a minor in Russian.”

She explained why she was interested in learning Russian.

“My Russian isn’t as strong as it used to be,” she said. “I absolutely love Russian literature, and I had this goal in my head when I was in high school to be able to read ‘Anna Karenina’ in Russian, one day. I’m not quite there yet, but someday, I will be.”

The Leo Tolstoy novel is her favorite book, by her favorite author.

“Because of my family being Polish, and the close ties of the Russian influence, my great-grandmother, my grandfather, knew how to speak German, Polish, and Russian,” Wikaryasz said. “And that’s been lost through the generations. So, it was an opportunity to revive that. And also, I think it’s a way to pay homage to my family and my ancestors … In some way, it felt like I was learning the language in memory of my ancestors.”

She started working in marketing at MSU, but she didn’t like it as much as she thought she would.

“I really missed home, so that’s why I moved back,” Wikaryasz said.

She loves Northeast Michigan for many reasons.

“Because I’ve lived here my whole life, I know the little nuances to Alpena that people outside of Alpena might not get,” she said. “Alpena’s a very historic town, so I’ve always appreciated that of this city. My roots are here, so it’s like I moved back, and I wasn’t gone at all.”

She has enjoyed writing for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve always been an avid writer,” Wikaryasz said. “My entire life. In school, if we had a three-page creative story we had to write, or something, I was writing, like, 15 pages.”

She looks forward to using her writing skills to help tell the stories of people in the community.

“I was specifically interested in journalism in Alpena, because of my roots in Alpena, and being able to tell those stories,” Wikaryasz said. “And being able to connect with the community again.”

Wikaryasz enjoys both creative and active hobbies.

“I wouldn’t call myself an artist, I dabble in art,” she said. “I like to paint, draw, and read. I spend a lot of my time at the gym, at the Bay (Athletic Club). I run all the time, especially in the summer. I like to go hiking. Active things, but then I also like to hibernate, like a little cat.”

She likes to curl up on a rainy day with a good book and a cup of hot tea. Classics are her favorite genre, but she’s open to trying out new books.

“I definitely gravitate more toward classics,” she said. “But, when I need a brain break, just like a good, trashy romance novel. It’s the perfect way to wash your brain. It’s like a reset. My friend described it as ‘Skittles’ books. Like, when you eat one, you can’t stop eating them. They’re bad for you, but they’re so good.”

She appreciates the natural beauty of Northeast Michigan and all the amazing things you can do outdoors here.

“I like Northeast Michigan the most because of the nature,” Wikaryasz said. “The one thing, in Lansing, obviously, there were a lot of conveniences, a lot more stuff for a young person to do, but I really missed being able to just walk out in my front yard in my bare feet, and being able to drive for three minutes to a trail.”

She enjoys hiking on nature trails and looks forward to spending more time outdoors as the weather warms up.

Reach Lifestyles Editor Darby Hinkley at dhinkley@thealpenanews.com, or call 989-358-5691.