UND students across the country gain experience and get their foot in the door with internship opportunities

• Main Author: Halvorson, Amy
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: UND Scholarly Commons 2014
• Subjects: Yukon; Alaska; midnight sun
• Online Access: https://commons.und.edu/features-archive/451

UND students across the country gain experience and get their foot in the door with internship opportunities University of North Dakota senior Chance Faul, a commercial aviation major from McClusky, N.D., is spending his summer in the wilderness of Alaska. He is interning at Papa Bear Adventures, which is an adventure in itself. Papa Bear Adventures, located in Bethel, Alaska, arranges hunting and fishing trips in the 20-million acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest wildlife refuge in the nation. "I love hunting and the outdoors, so I figured working in Alaska for a company that flys hunters and anglers out would be the perfect place for me to get some experience in the aviation industry," Faul said. "I've always wanted to go to Alaska, so this seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime." Faul learned about this opportunity through one of the many e-mails that aviation students receive regarding internship and job opportunities. Once this particular internship caught his eye, Faul filled out an application and sent the company his resume. He then received a call, had a short phone interview, and voilà ? the opportunity of lifetime. Faul is excited to learn more about sea-plane operations and to see what it's like flying in Alaska. A typical day for Faul will entail getting gear ready for customers, loading it and other supplies onto a plane, fueling the planes and washing them if necessary. Even with all of the excitement of this "heaven-sent" internship Faul reminds himself that with new places come new challenges. One of the challenges Faul is talking about is keeping track of time and dealing with the ever-present daylight in the land of the midnight sun. Faul is one of many UND students this summer who are out working hard in the field by fulfilling internships and cooperative educations (co-ops) across the country. With majors ranging from communication to space studies, they are out on the job and gaining the ultimate education of learning by doing. Jordan Cespedes, Champlin, Minn., a UND ...