This was one of the first questions posed to students at this summer’s Clean Energy Career Explorations Academy with Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP). And whether they arrived with aspirations of becoming a doctor, nurse, engineer, artist, or guide, they left with the awareness that energy ties them all together.
This year’s Clean Energy Academy encouraged personality. Thirty-one students representing twelve different communities from Golovin to Juneau is a powerhouse of experience, skill, culture, and perspective. And throughout the week, the students demonstrated their genius and prior knowledge by sharing stories and embedding their personalities in their work.
Students started by donning their hardhats and building a model home. Throughout the week their model homes evolved as they added insulation, wind power, solar electricity, and some personal touches like landscaping, furniture, and even roof shingles and koi ponds. Students drew inspiration from a field trip to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) where they toured the six example Native dwellings and learned about how each structure was designed to keep their inhabitants thriving throughout all seasons.
Every day featured guest speakers from various corners of the energy industry. Speakers spoke about their jobs and their pathways to success while leading short activities. Students took virtual tours of rural tanks farms and hydroelectric projects, experienced what it’s like to climb a wind turbine, mapped out the various jobs needed to install a residential solar PV system, and MacGyvered windmills with basic crafting supplies. We were even joined by ANSEP alumnus Audrey Alstrom, Director of Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency Programs at the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), to talk about her path from ANSEP to AEA.
The academy culminated with a mock community meeting where students used their gained knowledge to argue for or against various energy futures in their hypothetical community. Students were challenged to step outside of their personal perspectives and argue from the standpoint of a randomly assigned community member. At the end, the group came to an almost unanimous decision that diversifying their energy portfolio with more renewables and installing efficiency upgrades was the most sustainable path forward for their small community.
