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‘Years Of Experience In One Summer’
The Internship Program
Every year, CVRF interns gain valuable working experience by supporting the operations of our nonprofit from our Anchorage and village offices. During the pandemic, this support focused on implementing and powering the revised health and safety protocols put in place by staff. During the summer YTW program, for instance, interns reviewed the COVID screening questionnaires YTW filled out daily and flagged any anomalies to CSRs and program staff. This vital step in the screening process ensured that our YTW programs ran smoothly and without incident.
In the past, local CSRs would assist with timesheet entry and payroll for our interns and YTW participants. In 2020, when CSRs turned their attention to COVID risk mitigation, interns were tapped to help with time entries. This enabled CSRs to focus their attention on administering programs and ensuring health and safety protocols were followed. It also provided the interns with additional work experience to include on their resumes, which further enhanced the value of the programs for the participants.
In total, 17 high school and college students participated in the summer internship and earned a total of $77,568. STEPHEN MAXIE III, one of these interns, said he appreciated CVRF maintaining youth training and employment opportunities in a difficult year. “It made me feel like we weren’t being left behind or forgotten about,” he said. He also said that the training and experience he gained through the internship was invaluable. “It really felt like I was gaining years of experience in one summer. I’m so grateful to CVRF for the opportunity.” After completing the internship, he returned to his studies, intent on his goal of one day getting a job that allows him to be active in and give back to his community.
I’m so grateful to CVRF for the opportunity.
STEPHEN MAXIE III, INTERN
STEPHEN MAXIE III
COMMUNITY ESSENTIALS More than a Mechanic
M/Ws At CVRF Shops
Residents can now rely on CVRF mechanics to offer the same level of service available at one of Honda’s own shops.
GEORGE SMITH, SCAMMON BAY SHOP
GEORGE SMITH
Our unique Mechanic/Welders (M/Ws) aren’t your average mechanics. Every day, they come to work with ready to handle the challenges — no matter what comes in, no matter how hard the job. If a resident needs that machine in order to survive in rural Alaska and maintain a subsistence lifestyle, then our M/Ws will roll up their sleeves and find a solution. They have experience servicing a variety of vehicles and appliances, including ATVs, snowmachines, Toyo heaters, boats, boat trailers, and much more. Their broad skill set enables them to apply their craft in a variety of situations. Beyond the work in the shop, M/Ws provide vital services to the community by contributing their skills to projects across the region. Our M/Ws regularly participate in trail marking, construction and repair of boardwalks, building infrastructure, laying foundations for new homes and helping with numerous ad hoc repair jobs, where they use their training to help determine what is wrong with a machine and how to fix it. This requires that M/Ws listen to the needs of our residents and understand how vehicles and appliances can improve their lives in a tangible way. In the future, we hope to take these learnings from the community and create new mechanical solutions to common problems faced in western Alaska.
At CVRF, we see the M/W program as a twofold opportunity to both meet community needs and provide a stable, in-region source of skilled labor and training. We believe that investing our time and resources in educational and vocational programs like this one will create opportunities for residents, generate value for our communities and raise the quality of life in Western Alaska.
