I Lived in Whittier, Alaska: A Town Under One Roof | INDIE ALASKA

Alaska Public Media | By Valerie Lake

Published September 15, 2021 at 6:45 PM AKDT

A colorful building stands in the distance with a parking lot of boats in the foreground. — The resident apartment building in Whittier, Alaska towers over a boat parking lot on a summer day of 2021.

Erika Fitzgerald jumped at the opportunity to teach in Alaska after graduate school. She didn't expect she'd be living and working in Whittier, a town where nearly all residents live in the same building, and the only way in and out is through a tunnel that closes each night.

Erika's story was first featured on this channel in 2013 and INDIE ALASKA decided to check back in with her to see what she's doing today and hear how that experience in Whittier changed her life.

Story by Valerie Kern and Shiri Segal
Video by Matt Faubion, Travis Gilmour, and Slavik Boyechko
Music by Universal Production Music

Watch the original episode below

Indie Alaska

Valerie Lake

Originally from the Central Coast of California, Valerie joined Alaska Public Media in July 2017. She creates original video content for the station's TV and digital platforms while also overseeing the Production Department. Before moving to Alaska, Valerie worked as an ENG Editor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. She also served in the U.S. Air Force as a TV and Radio Broadcast Journalist where she traveled around Europe, Africa, The Baltics, Australia, and the Southern United States reporting on military events, exercises, and missions. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, backcountry skiing, backpacking, yoga, and traveling.

See stories by Valerie Lake