香蕉传媒

鈥淲e鈥檙e never going to go there鈥�

Stephanie Clark 鈥�14 began the adventure of a lifetime because she was looking for practice.

During her senior year at St. Scholastica, she and a fellow elementary education major attended a job fair with the hopes of gaining interview experience. The two decided to participate in some interviews with a district in Alaska because they thought, 鈥渨e鈥檙e never going to go there.鈥�

But what started out as a practice interview for Clark quickly evolved into the real deal. She met with the interviewer for an hour, talked to the school鈥檚 principal and listened to kindergarteners engage in their classroom activities. The district offered her a job on the spot.

鈥淭hey gave me a week to decide and I did think about it for a while,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut then I figured, 鈥業鈥檓 young, why not? Let鈥檚 do this!鈥欌��

Clark is now entering her seventh year at Manokotak “Nunaniq” School in Manokotak, Alaska, a rural village in the southwest region of the state. And those sweet students from her interview must have left an impact because she鈥檚 been teaching kindergarten ever since.

Adjusting to Alaska

The Duluth native described her transition from 鈥渄ownstates鈥� to Alaska as initially very tough. She made the move alone and had to learn how to find her way until her fiance Christopher joined her seven months later.

鈥淥ne of the biggest adjustments was how remote the village is,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he town is about 400 people. There is a post office, small clinic and [a] very small store. You fly in by plane and there鈥檚 no other access to the village unless you have a boat and can go by river.鈥�

Internet service is also unreliable. During her master鈥檚 studies, the only place Clark could find 3G service was up a mountain, so she and her roommate would hike up the mountain armed with their tent and laptops. And a gun 鈥� in case they ran into any bears along the way.

Groceries are ordered over the phone and also flown in, but not inexpensively. Clark said a gallon of milk costs $14 and she recently spent $32 on a steak. During her first year away, she found herself especially missing access to fresh produce and fruit.

So Clark learned to adopt a subsistence lifestyle by foraging for berries, fiddleheads and other greens. She took up fishing and clamming (and canning, smoking and drying!) to fill up her freezer and save money on meat. She also hunts moose and caribou, and looks for seagull and herring eggs.

鈥淲e鈥檝e learned to know what we want and what we need,鈥� she said. And it turned out, she really loved the subsistence lifestyle and her community鈥檚 efforts to sustain it.

Embraced by community

Stephanie Clark was named the 2021 Southwest Region School District Teacher of the Year.

The community has sustained her, too.

Clark found out that many teachers come for one year and leave, so when she decided to stick it out for a second year, that was the moment when community members began to welcome her and embrace her as a member of the village.

鈥淚鈥檝e made such incredible friends,鈥� she said, 鈥淪ome call me almost every other night to participate in a maq鈥檌i, or steam bath, which is a very social event.鈥�

Perhaps her most cherished memory was when one of her colleagues 鈥渘amed鈥� her by giving her a traditional Yupik name.

鈥淪he sat down and talked with me, asked me about my family and what鈥檚 most important to me,鈥� said Clark. 鈥淎nd then she named me Alq鈥檃q, which means 鈥榦ldest sister.鈥� It came from someone who had recently passed; names are given so that they can continue on.鈥�

In September, Clark was presented with yet another incredible honor: she was recognized as her school district’s Teacher of the Year.

Love of learning

Clark calls the experience life-changing. And she attributes her success and grit in Manokotak to her time as an elementary education major at St. Scholastica.

鈥淚 really appreciated the program and I got so much out of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he professors are knowledgeable in what they do and every single one of them has a passion for teaching. That鈥檚 what got me so excited! I鈥檇 never really excelled in school until the education program at Scholastica.鈥�

Ultimately, her undergraduate studies made her fall in love with teaching.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be here without St. Scholastica. It made me who I am and it got me to where I am today.鈥�