NAKNEK, ALASKA — When a group of State Technical College of Missouri leaders traveled to western Alaska this summer, they weren’t taking a sightseeing trip. They were following the path many State Tech interns have taken for the last four years.

After establishing contact with the college in 2021, the seafood processing companies in some of Alaska’s most remote communities began welcoming State Tech interns in 2022 to help prepare their facilities for one of the busiest commercial fishing seasons in the world. As those relationships have grown, college leaders said they wanted to see firsthand why employers continue returning to State Tech for skilled workers.

“We push students to go do these internships, getting out of your comfort zone, and seeing the world,” said HVAC and Facilities Operations & Management Department Chair/Instructor Jeff Winkelman, who was joined on the trip by Director of Career Services Scott Peters, Academic Affairs Department Academic Dean Chris Muenks, Electrical Technology Department Chair/Instructor Courtney Schaefer, Electrical Technology Department Instructor Cliff Williams, and Electrical Technology Department Lab Instructor Josh Kremer. “So I’ve been telling kids, ‘Go try this,’ but I didn’t really know what I was telling them to go try. Now, I have a better idea of what they’re doing when they get there, and the process of how they go because they seem to do a really good job up there picking good applicants.”

Peters explained that Canfisco Group paid for the trip in an ongoing partnership. The North Pacific Seafoods division reached out to the college and started working with Peters and former instructor Ben Berhorst.

“They were seeking talented summer interns in HVAC, Electrical, and Automation,” Peters added. “Their main interest is in hiring interns and not full-time, primarily because they only need this expertise during the salmon season that starts in mid-June and runs until the end of July.”

The group visited Canfisco Group, which has hired 15 State Tech students to intern this summer in Alaska. The group includes Alaska General Seafoods, Canfisco, Delta Pacific Seafoods, E&E Foods, Leader Creek Fisheries, and North Pacific Seafoods.

One plant the men toured processes between 15 million and 21 million pounds of seafood during a season lasting only five or six weeks, with the busiest production compressed into roughly two weeks.

“It was just neat to really see the inner workings of it all and how it all worked — and the volume,” said Winkelman.

Muenks added that the production volume was difficult to comprehend. “That’s so crazy, the volume they produce in this five- or six-week window for the whole year,” he said.

This year, Electrical, HVAC, Facilities Operations, and Diesel students were there working in each facility. Tech leaders stayed at one of the locations and then toured six others, including the oldest operating plant, built in 1890.

REACHING THE WILDERNESS

Representatives traveled aboard increasingly smaller aircraft to reach the plant at Naknek. The team flew to King Salmon from Anchorage. Naknek was the group’s base for the majority of the trip, with the last day two days spent at Kenai. 

Winkelman explained one day they needed to take four flights because there are few places to drive in that area.

One landing was made on a beach at low tide because no runway was available. “We had puddle-jumpers,” Winkelman noted, adding the tide varies 31-32 feet at Coffee Point, the only suitable place to land.

The unusual arrival offered an immediate reminder that life in western Alaska operates differently than almost anywhere else in the country. In some villages, children even fly to school because there simply isn’t another way to get there.

Without roads connecting many communities, airplanes deliver passengers, groceries, mail, and everyday supplies. Cargo often takes priority over luggage, meaning bags sometimes arrive a day after their owners.

In some cases, the men were missing things or simply hadn’t packed an item, but there was no simple fix.

“There was no Dollar General,” Peters quipped.

Another amusing aspect of the journey was how the men had to assist pilots. After circling for a while, the plane landed, and the men had no clue what was going to happen next, but they found out quickly.

“We’ve got to unload all this crap,” said Winkelman of the cargo. “Some of those Amazon boxes were really heavy.”

The men laughed as they recalled helping unload mail and freight before continuing their own journey.

Mail, supplies, and even luggage had to be loaded on a priority basis, which is why some bags were a day behind the travelers. “When they run out of space, it’s like, ‘We’re out of space.’ Everything else sits and waits,” Winkelman said.

The trip offered a rare opportunity for college officials to experience the same communities, housing, and workplaces that students encounter each year while gaining a deeper appreciation for both the challenges and opportunities the internships provide.

“We didn’t have fancy accommodations,” said Peters. “We stayed in the same kind of housing that interns stay in during their time at the plant.”

Meals came from the same cafeteria used by employees, as everyone met for three meals a day. There’s also a laundry schedule.

PROCESSING INTERNS

Williams noted that a recruiter said that when they interview potential interns, they’re not checking for technical expertise anymore. “They know that we’re teaching students from the technical side of things, because of the reputation of the students when they’re there,” he added, noting the canneries are trying to determine whether these students are tough enough to be in that kind of environment for that amount of time.

“That’s the big thing they’re looking at because you’re not going to have internet access,” said Muenks, adding that extended daylight hours are a challenge as well. “You’re going to have very limited contacts, and you’re going to be working long days.”

“They want to know your health background,” Muenks said.

Winkelman noted the concern is justified because help is not always readily available if someone becomes seriously ill.

Within the interior, there are no nearby towns, and most travel is done by plane or boat. Most of the area includes just the fisheries, and students are by necessity in for the long haul while serving as interns.

Rather than minimizing the challenges, company representatives make sure prospective interns understand exactly what awaits them before they ever leave Missouri.

“They actually try to make it sound almost worse than it is,” said Winkelman. “It’s going to be a lot different than what you have here. It’s going to be harder, so they want them to know that up front.”

State Tech officials said that honesty prepares students for success while helping ensure those who accept the opportunity are committed to seeing it through.

Once students are hired, the experience is like few others.

While technical training opens the door, State Tech officials said students build lasting relationships by demonstrating dependability, adaptability, and a willingness to tackle demanding work.

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

Before production begins, State Tech interns are already at work. They arrive as facilities prepare to open for the season, assisting with maintenance, repairs, and improvement projects before transitioning into around-the-clock maintenance roles once fish begin arriving.

“They do projects first,” Winkelman explained. “Then, once the fishing starts, hopefully the projects are done, and then you’re on call to fix problems.”

Unlike many internships that focus primarily on observation, representatives said State Tech students quickly become working members of the maintenance team.

Students install piping, complete electrical work, troubleshoot refrigeration systems, and respond whenever equipment breaks down.

“They were letting our students do a lot of work,” Kremer said. “Not just pushing a broom around. They were running pipe. They were doing actual electrical work.”

Perhaps the clearest indication of the confidence employers place in State Tech students came in one simple observation.

“You don’t get an 18- or 19-year-old kid running a chiller plant around here,” Winkelman said.

Keeping the facilities running also means preparing for situations many workers in the Lower 48 rarely encounter. “A lot of them have their own on-site energy,” said Muenks. “The one day we were there, the town was shut down with power, and they had to run their generators and backups.”

Another participant said some facilities don’t depend on municipal utilities at all, as a couple of the plants only run on their own generators.

Representatives said the demanding schedule accelerates both learning and responsibility.

Although the internship requires 320 hours, students often complete that within their first month because of the long workdays. “When you’re working 12- or 16-hour days, it doesn’t take long to hit that,” Williams said.

One intern the men spoke to at Coffee Point said he worked those 320 hours in the first month he was there.

The work itself presents challenges rarely encountered elsewhere.

MORE THAN JUST A SUMMER JOB

Many cannery employees return season after season, creating a close-knit community where longtime coworkers greet one another like family.

“People were coming in, and you saw them hugging each other,” said Kremer. “They know each other.”

State Tech students quickly become part of that culture.

The rewards extend beyond the experience itself.

“They make quite a bit of money in a short period of time,” Williams said. “You can cram in more than half of a year’s pay in three months.”

More importantly, representatives said students leave with experience that would be difficult to duplicate elsewhere.

“These students that go through this internship are working on so many different things,” Muenks said. “They’re getting a great deal more experience probably than a lot of the other interns that we have.”

As impressive as the facilities were, Tech representatives said what stood out most was the way the companies treated both employees and interns.

“I think the company tries to take care of them,” said Winkelman, adding that the group of men was treated very well by everyone at the company.

Peters said the bond between instructors and former students was immediately obvious. “These guys’ connection with the students—no matter how much we grow, it still seems to be there,” he noted. “When we got there, and they started talking shop and what they were doing, it was all over my head, but there’s definitely that connection.”

Tech officials said the trip strengthened the relationship between State Tech and its industry partners.

Despite the demanding work, representatives said the atmosphere surprised them.

“It’s almost like summer camp for adults, but you make money and work your ass off,” Winkelman said.

MAINTAINING AND EXPANDING INTERNSHIPS

Despite demanding conditions, every student the men encountered spoke positively about the experience.

“Those kids all seemed excited. Oh my God, the kids!”

“It was really... there just wasn’t a single bad thing about being up there. They all loved it.”

The enthusiasm wasn’t limited to the students.

Tech reps said that company officials repeatedly praised the quality of graduates and described the college as their primary source for skilled technical employees.

“What I got out of it was we were the primary college they go to hire technical skilled people,” said Muenks.

Kremer said the companies have looked elsewhere but continue returning to Missouri. “They’ve tried several different places throughout the country,” he noted.

Winkelman added that even schools located much closer to the employers had failed to produce the same results.

“They said there was a school right there next to their home office, and they tried it, and they just couldn’t get the work ethic,” said Muenks.

The partnership has matured to the point that returning students have become a common sight. “You had some students return and are working there who have worked multiple summers now,” said Schaefer.

Winkelman said one of those returning interns is currently in his class.

“I ask questions during class, like, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’” Winkelman explained. “He said, ‘I might still be working summers in Alaska.’”

Representatives noted that three former interns have already returned for additional summers.

Opportunities are beginning to expand well beyond the programs that started the partnership. “I think next year they’re even looking for office people—business,” said Kremer. “They’re looking at people to work more in the office as well, in programs at the college.”

The growth isn’t limited to office positions.

“I know over the last two years they’ve been seeking a lot of our diesel mechanics as well,” said Peters. “They’re starting to discover that we have other programs besides just these initial ones.”

For the representatives who made the trip, the clearest indication that these companies aren’t simply satisfied with the students State Tech had already sent — they wanted more.

TAKING IN THE SCENERY

This was the first trip to Alaska for the group of men, who hoped to spot bears but never quite managed it.

Winkleman admitted he did catch a glimpse of something memorable. “I’m pretty sure I saw the ass-end of a moose,” he said.

The team spent one day sightseeing at Homer Spit, which Peters said was probably the only tourist-related area they visited. 

All joking aside, the men agreed that the biggest takeaway wasn’t Alaska’s scenery, the beach landings, or even the size of the seafood industry.

It was seeing firsthand the confidence employers have in State Tech students.

That confidence wasn’t created by a single internship or a single graduating class. It has been earned over years of students proving they can step into demanding environments, accept meaningful responsibility, and contribute from their first day on the job. “These students that go through this internship are working on so many different things that they’re probably getting a great deal more experience than a lot of the other interns that we have,” said Muenks.

After seeing those relationships firsthand, the group returned to Missouri with a better understanding of why Alaska employers continue looking to State Tech —not simply for interns, but for people they trust.