Bettye Davis East High freshman Allie Sivils stood in front of a teleprompter reading a simulated weather forecast at the Anchorage School District Career Expo at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center on Oct. 4.
“Hello Alaska, I’m meteorologist Allie reporting live from the ASD Career Expo here in Downtown Anchorage,” Sivils said. “In Cordova, it’s going to be pretty cloudy with 48 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Like every freshman in the Anchorage School District, Sivils looked around the Dena’ina Center to see what careers in Alaska she might be interested in. She said a career interest survey helped point her towards broadcasting.
She was one of almost 3,000 Anchorage 9th graders who filed through the expo, eager to learn more about potential careers in Alaska as a part of the district’s new Academies of Anchorage program.
“As soon as I saw it I was like, ‘oh, I really want to do that.’ So it looked awesome, and it was. It was really cool to get a feel for it.” Sivils said. “There are so many more options than I really thought there were going to be here, and so it kind of helps you know that it’s okay if you don’t know right now. There’s so many things that you could do.”
This year’s expo is the first of what is planned as an annual event, and district officials said they want to include more businesses next year. The district launched the career academy program this year in an effort to boost graduation rates. The new Freshman Academy Career Exploration class is meant to expose students to a variety of careers and begin up to four years of career-focused instruction. Students were required to fill out worksheets detailing potential careers they learned more about at the expo as an assignment for the course.
The room was filled with over a hundred booths from local businesses including construction and resource development, health care, law enforcement and branches of the military.
The Western States Council of Carpenters booth had one of the longest lines at the expo. Students were offered a chance to win a gift card if they clocked the fastest time pounding nails and drilling screws.
Tyler Socarras felt right at home with a hammer in his hand, and said he’s already interested in carpentry as a career.
“To seek a better future for myself,” Socarras said.
Socarras said he’s also considering enlisting in the military.
Far and away the most popular booth at the expo was a flight simulator run by the Alaska Air Carriers Association. Students lined up by the dozens to get their hands on airplane controls and feel what it’s like to stick the landing.
“You can do this. Alaska is the best place to do this,” Alaska Air Carriers Association Executive Director Will Day said to a crowd of students waiting their turn. “Our university has a program. So you can go all the way through high school, you can go to UAA, you can become a pilot, you can become a mechanic, you can work on airplanes, you can be around aviation. This is totally possible.”
Dimond freshman Joseph Maynard was calm, cool and collected behind the controls of a de Havilland Beaver. He said the flight simulator is a valuable tool for aspiring pilots.
“It can help you like flying wise if you have a crosswind you’re trying to land, that can be pretty challenging for some new pilots,” Maynard said.
Maynard’s already interested in a career in aviation, and used his time on the simulator to hone his takeoff and landing skills, touching down at Merrill Field. With enough time and training, Maynard hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by making a career as a pilot.
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
